Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: azulejo

Vila Nova de Milfontes was founded in 1486 by King Dom Joao II. The town is located on the right bank of the river directly at the mouth of the Rio Mira in the Atlantic. The azulejo may be a "mise en abyme", a copy of an image within itself. But the "Centro Comercial" there looks a bit different, maybe the house was changed.

With around 250,000 inhabitants, Porto is the largest city in the north of Portugal. More than 1.7 million people live in the "Greater Porto area", the metropolitan region. The historic centre of Porto was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Port wine is named after Porto because the wineries of Vila Nova de Gaia on the south bank of the Douro River are the centres for packaging, transporting and exporting the fortified wine. I have uploaded many photos from previous visits. So I will limit myself and only upload a few. The construction of the station started in 1904, based on plans by architect José Marques da Silva. The large panels of around twenty thousand azulejo tiles (551 square meters) were designed and painted by Jorge Colaço. The murals represent moments in the country's history and the multicolored panels depict rural scenes showing the people of various regions.

Lamego became Catholic when the Visigothic king Rekared I converted to Catholicism. During the reign of Sisebuto (612-621), the Visigothic monarch coined currency from Lamego, indicating the importance of the region to commerce and culture. The region alternated between Christian and Muslim hands during the early Reconquista Period. The city was first conquered by Alfonso I of Asturias in 741and repopulated in 868 by Alfonso III. It fell into Islamic hands briefly again during the late 10th century, until Ferdinand I of León and Castile conquered the region definitively in 1057. The most significant moment in the town's history was in 1139, when nobles declared Afonso Henriques to be Portugal's first king. The diocese of Lamego may have been founded around 570; in any case, as bishop's names are known from this period. After the reconquest of the north of what is now Portugal by Ferdinand I of León in 1057, it continued to exist de facto, but it was not until four years after Portugal's independence (1139) that the bishopric was refounded by King Alfonso I in 1143. The bell tower of the current cathedral dates back to this time, but it was fundamentally altered in the 16th century in the late Gothic/Renaissance style. In 1881, Pope Leo XIII attached the bishopric of Lamego to the archbishopric of Braga. St. Nicholas and the three little children, who had been lured by a malicious butcher into his house, where he killed them, placing their remains in a barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as ham. Nicholas saw through the butcher's lies and resurrected the pickled children.

Porto is with a population of about 250.000 the largest city in Northern Portugal. In "Greater Porto", the metropolitan area, live even more than 1.7 million people. The historical center of Porto was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. Port wine is named after Porto, since the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia on the southern banks of the river Douro are the centers for packaging, transport and export of the fortified wine. Some years ago I had been here for a couple of days before I started the "Camino Portugues" here. Having a coffee in one of the coffe-shops around the "Praça da Batalha" with a view onto to the "Igreja de Santo Ildefonso". The church was erected in baroque style between 1709 and 1739, when finally the towers were completed. Since 1932, the facade is covered with (around 11.000) azulejo tiles

Porto is with a population of about 250.000 the largest city in Northern Portugal. In "Greater Porto", the metropolitan area, live even more than 1.7 million people. The historical center of Porto was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. Port wine is named after Porto, since the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia on the southern banks of the river Douro are the centers for packaging, transport and export of the fortified wine. Some years ago I had been here for a couple of days before I started the "Camino Portugues" here. The construction of the dominating Porto Cathedral (Sé do Porto) began around 1100 and was completed more than 2 centuries later. Though it underwent different alterations over the centuries (gothic, baroque), the romanesque structure of the once fortified church is still clearly visible. The gothic cloister was added end of the 14th century. Traditional, blue azulejos are applied to the walls. Not only the word "azulejo", but as well the technique is a Moorish legacy.