Diana Bar is a beach library and gallery in

Póvoa de Varzim Póvoa de Varzim (, ) is a Portuguese city in Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto, from its city centre. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho and Douro rivers. In 2001, there were 63,470 ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Before being a public library it was a historic café with the same name. It is located in the south end of the city's main waterfront avenue, the Banhos Avenue (''Avenida dos Banhos'', literally Baths Avenue). It includes bar and Internet services, and is often used for exhibits and book presentations. The library is very popular, because of its beach view and large windows, in the summer it often gets over 800 visitors per day. The arts TV show, ''Câmara Clara'', of the public broadcaster RTP, was broadcast from there during the 2006 ''Correntes d'Escritas'' International literary meeting in Póvoa de Varzim. A rose colored building, Diana Bar is surrounded by the beach except in the entrance by the Banhos Avenue. It has an egg-shape architectural conception, with large windows and a wide interior. It has an internal balcony around the building that functions as the second floor. Diana Bar's floor mimics the

Portuguese pavement Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, for exteriors, and is a drawing of concentric circles.

History

Diana Bar was built over the beach between 1938/1939, and due to its select nature, it soon became a writers meeting place and for intellectuals coming from various cities. It was where

José Régio José Maria dos Reis Pereira, better known by the pen name José Régio (17 September 1901, Vila do Conde – 22 December 1969, Vila do Conde), was a Portuguese writer who spent most of his life in Portalegre (1929 to 1962). He was the brother ...

wrote some of his works, and still today, the table and chair that he often choose are exhibited with his portray. Diana Bar was where

and

Agustina Bessa-Luis Agustina is a given name, a feminine version of Augustine (given name), Augustine. It is a name popular in Argentina, Indonesia, and Uruguay. It may refer to: * Agustina de Aragón (1786–1857), Spanish heroine * Agustina Bessa-Luís (1922-2019), ...

often met, when she was living in

Esposende Esposende () is a city and a municipality in Braga District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 34,254, in an area of 95.41 km². The city itself (the parish Esposende, Marinhas e Gandra) had a population of 9,197 in 2001. It gained city ...

and he in

Vila do Conde Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,533, in an area of 149.03 km². The urbanized area of Vila do Conde, which includes the parishes of Vila do Conde, Azurar ...

. Agustina lived in Póvoa de Varzim earlier in her life, a town that she described as a "magical place in the beginning of my adolescence". With the death of its founder, the building entered into decay for several years. In November 2001, Póvoa de Varzim City hall bought and restored the building. In the summer of 2002, Diana Bar was ready to reopened as a beach library for the general public, first only in the summer months, but given its popularity it soon started to offer its services all year around.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Póvoa de Varzim Libraries in Portugal Commercial buildings completed in 1939 Tourist attractions in Póvoa de Varzim