“The attractive force of the Atlantic, that great sea inhabited by storms and mysteries, was the soul of the Nation and it was with it that the history of Portugal was written”
Jorge Dias (Portugal, 1950)
“Portugal is Mediterranean by nature, Atlantic by position.”
Pequito Rebelo (Portugal, 1929)
“Portugal became entrenched in my soul. This small, diverse and receptive nation gets under your skin.”
Richard Mayson (United Kingdom, 2003)
Portugal encompasses huge diversity in a small space, it is a real mosaic of cultures and natural environments. Mountains in the north with a humid Atlantic atmosphere, wine-growing terraces on the Douro, immense beaches along the entire coast and vast dry and hot undulating plains in the south, all this can be found in this small country. Palaces, castles, churches, monasteries, megalithic monuments and Roman temples stand alongside modern buildings in a perfect combination of styles, including Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Manueline and other more contemporary styles.
The Portuguese population and culture are the product of a vast array of ethnic and cultural influences that are at the heart of modern Portugal.
“Located in the far Southwest of Europe, not far from Africa, the country was destined to be a route centre and meeting point for a variety of races, some coming from the far end of the Mediterranean, like the Phoenicians, who claimed the ports, others from the far North, like the Normans, who invaded the coasts ... the Celtic invasions were more important, particularly after the 6th century B.C. These peoples, masters of the technique of working with iron and with their military and economic prowess ... The Lusitanian that resulted from this fusion were a rough, simple and remarkably resilient and courageous people...” Jorge Dias (Portugal, 1950).
Then came the Romans and the “pax romana” which lasted for several centuries, followed by the Germanic peoples (from the 5th century to the 8th century), first the Suevi and then the Alans and the Visigoths. Finally, at the start of the 8th century, it was the invasion of the Moors from the North African Empire of the Almoravids.
In 1139 D. Afonso Henriques declared himself king, a situation which in 1143 led to the international recognition of the Kingdom of Portugal and D. Afonso I as its king. Thus the oldest and most stable European political entity was created.
The celebration of a history of adventurers, built up on the oceans over centuries, is omnipresent in Portuguese culture and architecture. The maritime voyages between the 13th and 15th centuries led the Portuguese to open up sea routes and to their presence in Asia, Africa and Brazil, thus taking the first step towards the creation of “a global world”.
Unlike some important European capitals, to this day “Lisbon (from Olissipo, the city of Ulysses), on the mouth of the river Tejo, has a greater affinity with the Sea than with Land”
