Porto

A granite city on the Douro: baroque towers, iron bridges and the quays that gave port wine its name.

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Historic places in Porto

• Clérigos Church and Tower — The Clérigos tower, begun in 1754, is finished in 1763: 240 steps up to the symbol of Porto.
• Porto Cathedral — King John I marries the English princess Philippa of Lancaster in Porto Cathedral.
• Ribeira Square — A great fire sweeps the riverside; the square is rebuilt with arcaded houses and paving.
• Luís I Bridge — The arch and upper deck are completed on 30 October 1886 and the bridge opens the very next day.
• São Bento Railway Station — On 13 August 1905 Jorge Colaço places the first of the station's azulejo panels.
• Lello Bookshop — The Lello brothers open their new bookshop on Rua das Carmelitas, built by engineer Francisco Xavier Esteves.
• Stock Exchange Palace — Queen Maria II gives the burnt convent ruins to the merchants, who build their Stock Exchange there.
• Church of Santa Clara — The Franciscan Poor Clares leave their old monastery for the new church and convent by the wall.
• São João National Theatre — On 13 May the theatre opens with the comedy A Vivandeira for Prince João's birthday.
• Former Court and Prison of Relação — Novelist Camilo Castelo Branco and Ana Plácido are held here, in separate wings, accused of adultery.
• Fernandine Walls (Guindais section) — By about 1370 the new wall is almost complete; it is named after King Fernando, who finishes it.
• Church of São Francisco — Under King Fernando's patronage the friars start the larger Gothic church.
• Casa do Infante — Prince Henry is born in Porto on 4 March 1394; tradition says in this royal customs house.
• Episcopal Palace — In the siege of Porto the bishop flees and Pedro IV's troops hold the palace against Miguel I.
• Church of the Misericórdia — In April lightning destroys the façade; only the chancel of the first church survives.
• Monastery of São Bento da Vitória — Benedictines begin their monastery on the site of the former Olival Jewish quarter.
• Church of the Grilos (São Lourenço) — In the siege of Porto the friars leave; Pedro's Academic Battalion, with writer Almeida Garrett, moves in.
• Carmo and Carmelitas Churches — A house just over 1.5 m wide is built between Carmo and Carmelitas, because two churches could not share a wall.
• Casa de Serralves — Carlos Alberto Cabral sees the Paris decorative-arts exhibition and meets the designers of his art deco villa.
• Freixo Palace — Nicolau Nasoni builds a Baroque riverside palace for Canon Jerónimo de Távora.
• Santo António Hospital — Building starts on 15 July to a Palladian design by Englishman John Carr.
• Romanesque Church of Cedofeita — King Theodomir's son is healed by a relic of St Martin; the church is built so fast it is called cito facta.
• New Customs House — On 25 September a new customs house is ordered on Miragaia beach to French architect Jean-François Colson's design.
• Maria Pia Bridge — On 4 November King Luís and Queen Maria Pia open the railway bridge named after her.
• Avenida dos Aliados and City Hall — Barry Parker's plan is approved, opening the Avenida dos Aliados.
• Bolhão Market — The city buys meadowland where a stream made a bubbling spring, the bolhão that names the market.
• Chapel of the Souls — 15,947 azulejos designed by Eduardo Leite cover the chapel with the lives of St Francis and St Catherine.
• Church of Santo Ildefonso — Jorge Colaço's about 11,000 tiles with the life of St Ildefonso are placed on the façade.