On the left (south) bank of the Duoro River, we have Vila Nova de Gaia and on the right, the Ribeira district of Porto City. Ribeira just means “riverside”, and is part of Porto City proper, while Vila Nova de Gaia (which translates into “New Town of Gaia” and Gaia itself has Celtic origins) is part of another administrative region. Once upon a time, the Duoro River formed the boundary between Muslim-conquered territory and Christian-defended territory, hence the distinction was inherited to modern times. Today, Gaia is famed for cellar where port wine is aged (and marketed) and is heavily touristed.
To commemorate Porto’s designation as the European Capital of Culture in 2001, its first dedicated performance hall was commissioned and completed in 2005. The main performance hall had two walls made of glass, and the glass was made to be wavy in anticipation that it will diffuse unwanted sounds (but still did not live up to expectation due to the very hard nature of glass as a surface). A sheer screen later had to be added to try mitigate the acoustic issues of the design. Perhaps, an example of where an architect, in this case, Rem Koolhaas put form over function.
It was a rather gloomy and overcast day outside, hence I did not have a presentable exterior photo.
The Batalha Monastery (read as “ba-tal-ya”) is a monastery rich in early Portuguese history. Built to commemorate the victory of 1385 where Portugal won decisively against Castile (“Castle”), today a part of Spain, to secure its independance. Interestingly rulers of both belligerents were John The Firsts, so they were referred to as King John I of Portugal and King John I of Catile. Portugal was backed by England while Castile was supported by Aragon (today also part of Spain) and France.
King John I of Portugal went on to found the Casa de Avis dynasty which ruled until 1580, and so significant members of the House of Aviz were buried at this monastery including himself. Also buried here is one of King John I of Portugal’s sons, Prince Henry the Navigator, the father of the Age of Discovery and such the House of Aviz oversaw Portugal’s golden age as the premiere global maritime power.
Also of note is that England’s political alliance with Portugal would extend unbroken into modern times including Portugal’s interesting role in staying neutral throughout most of WWII as not to draw Spain into the Axis coalition. The Batalha Monastery also house the Tombs of Two Unknown Soldiers (WWI) where a military guard of honour watches over.
Apologies if some factual inaccuracies are made in the following passage. These photos were taken 7 years ago, and the interiors of many buildings are starting to look the same given the haze of time. Interesting feature in many monasteries of the era, and seen here at the Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça.
This feature is known as the calefactory, or warming house, where a central, communal fire is kept going for the working monks to gather around to keep themselves warm while reading, writing, translating, etc. Upstairs (seen below) was where important documents were kept as the heat passing nearby helps keep moisture from destroying the documents.
A philharmonic hall designed to be acoustically variable, with movable ceiling pieces and wall panels to change the characteristics of the hall for different programming. The centerpiece of it all is the grand dome.
Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça, founded by the first king of Portugal in 1153 and quickly becoming an influential and wealthy institution. It was the first Gothic building in Portugal.
The largest covered market in Hanoi, where you can wholesale everything under one roof. The food section out at the back has been fascinating, as is the food street off the side of it. Here is a walkway linking the two sections.
