European Ribbon

📖 Introduction

Porto, the second-largest city in Portugal, is a cradle of the nation’s statehood and identity. It was from here that overseas expeditions embarked, where Henry the Navigator was born, and where the first caravels were built. The city’s motto perfectly encapsulates its character: “Antiga, mui nobre, sempre leal e invicta cidade do Porto” – “Old, very noble, always loyal, and undefeated city of Porto.”

⛅ Mild Climate and The Golden River 

Porto is a picturesque city, sprawling across granite hills that descend towards the Douro River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The Douro, the most water-rich river on the Iberian Peninsula, originates in the Iberian Mountains in Spain, where it is called the Duero. According to legend, the riverbed carried sunlit, glistening pebbles, which the locals hailed as gold, thus naming the river the “Golden River”. Today terraced vineyards line its banks, producing the grapes used for making the famous sweet fortified wine, Porto, Portugal’s most renowned wine. The mild climate plays a significant role in grape cultivation. While the entire Iberian Peninsula falls within the subtropical Mediterranean climate zone, this area is moderated by moist air masses from the Atlantic Ocean. This makes Porto pleasant to visit even during summer months when much of the Iberian Peninsula is too hot for travel.

🎫 Porto or oPorto

The city’s name has ancient roots, reflecting its primary function – “Portus” in Latin means harbor. However, on a plane ticket, you will see the designation “OPO“, derived from the historically used term “OPorto.” This name was given by English merchants, permanently linking the Portuguese article “o” with “Porto.”

⚔ Events That Shaped Porto

The earliest signs of settlement in this area date back to the Bronze Age (2000-700 BC), likely by the Celts on the Pena Ventosa hill (literally, the Windy Rock hill). Around 500 BC, the Romans arrived on the Iberian Peninsula, finding fortified hills in this region. The most important center of the province at that time was Braga, and the settlement of Pena Ventosa was called Cale.

In the 5th century AD, barbarian tribes occupied this area, establishing the kingdom of the Suebi, who were later conquered by the Visigoths in 585 AD. Coins from the Visigothic period have been found, bearing the name “Portucale” or “Portocale” for the first time.

In the 8th century, the Moors reached the Iberian Peninsula, conquering these lands and ruling over them until the 9th century. By the 10th century, the region of Portucale belonged to the province of Galicia and the kingdom of Asturias-León. It was significant enough to be administratively separated and had its own governor. The new county was named Terra Portucale, and its political and economic development was supported by King Alfonso VI (1065-1109). He gave it as a dowry to his illegitimate but favorite daughter Teresa of León when she married French knight Henry of Burgundy in 1096.

The couple ensured the land’s neutrality and sovereignty, and in 1120 Teresa granted the city to Bishop Hugo, who had been its spiritual guardian since 1113. Bishop Hugo granted city rights to the residents, defined privileges and restrictions, and the symbol of the municipality’s power became a pillory on the main square. He also began building the 🔗 Se Cathedral, laid out streets, and started the construction of city walls.

Henry and Teresa’s son, Afonso I Henriques (1128-1185), continued his parents’ policy of independence. His battles with Alfonso VII and the spectacular victory in the siege of 🔗 Lisbon in 1147 ultimately led to his recognition by Pope Alexander III in 1179 as the first king of Portugal, known as Afonso I the Conqueror.

In 1387, Porto hosted the marriage of John I of Portugal, the first king of the Aviz dynasty, to Philippa of Lancaster, solidifying the longest-lasting military alliance between two countries. The famous Treaty of Windsor, which survives to this day, is kept in the Portuguese National Archive. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Porto laid the foundations for Portuguese great geographical discoveries when John and Philippa’s son, Henry the Navigator, began exploring West Africa and the Atlantic islands. He advanced shipbuilding techniques and navigation skills. It was then that Porto’s residents, involved in maritime expeditions, gave all their meat to the brave sailors, contenting themselves with eating offal, earning the nickname “tripeiros” – tripe eaters.

In the 18th century, Porto established the first trading posts for the wine produced in the region. In 1703, the Methuen Treaty established trade relations between Portugal and its largest partner, England, which developed a taste for the wine, especially after the French ports were closed due to the revolution.

The 19th century began with the Napoleonic invasion and the city’s greatest tragedy. On March 29, 1809, under the weight of people fleeing the advancing troops, the pontoon bridge over the Douro River collapsed, drowning 4,000 of residents.

During the turbulent years of the civil war from 1832 to 1834, when two brothers fought for power, Porto’s residents fiercely defended the city for nearly a year until Pedro IV won the crown from his brother Miguel. After these events, Queen Maria II, Pedro IV’s daughter, named the city the Invincible, “Cidade Invicta.”

🌉 Porto’s Bridges

Porto is also known as the city of bridges. The most famous of the six bridges connecting Porto with Vila Nova de Gaia is the double-deck, arch bridge Ponte Dom Luís I, a masterpiece of engineering from the era of great iron constructions that swept Europe at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The project was designed by Teófilo Seyrig, a student of the renowned designer of the tower in Paris – Gustave Eiffel. The bridge was inaugurated on October 31, 1886, and at that time, it was the longest such structure in the world, with a length of 172 meters (564 feet) on the lower level and 395.25 meters on the upper level. Interestingly, until the end of 1943, there was a toll for crossing the bridge. One anecdote also claims that the bridge’s name deliberately excludes the title “king”, despite being named in honor of the ruler, because the monarch did not personally attend its ceremonial opening.

Nearby is the Maria Pia railway bridge, built nine years earlier, attributed to Gustave Eiffel himself. It was named after Maria Pia of Savoy, the wife of King Luís I.

Only the pylons remain of the D. Maria II Bridge, known as the suspension bridge, built between 1841-1843. It was erected on the site of the tragic pontoon bridge of 1806, which collapsed under the weight of fleeing residents during the Napoleonic invasion of Porto.