Curiosities

The traditional barber shops in Porto
20 July, 2018 / , , ,

These are nine of the traditional barbershops in the city of Porto and all are located between the Hospital Santo António and the São Bento Station.

Also traditional is the decoration of these barbershops, with iron armchairs and brass instruments capable of withstanding decades of use. Professionals also follow this longevity: many are elderly gentlemen with weather-discolored hair and clever fingers wrapped in wrinkles.

  • Barbearia Porto: It was born in 1946 but from that date only the chairs and a shoebox are left. The new owners brought in the rest of the vintage decor. It is two steps from the Avenida dos Aliados.
  • Barbearia Garrett: Since 1979 in the hands of Acácio Branco, this barbershop is just a few meters from the Porto City Hall. With an old-fashioned décor, this establishment only has male guests.
  • Oficina do Cabelo: Formerly known as Tinoco, reopened under this name. From 1929 it maintains the marble washbasins, iron chairs, huge mirrors and floor covered with fan mosaics. It is now considered part of Porto’s heritage.
  • Barbearia Santo António: It is not much bigger than a corridor, but it brings a lot of history in the hands of António Cardoso. There are more than 50 years of cuts at the beginning of Rua 31 de Janeiro.
  • Barbearia Norton: In this barbershop, in the Batalha area, we talk about everything and keep alive the tradition of the neighbourhood barber with leather chairs, beard brush and razors.
  • Salão Veneza: It is almost 90 years old and more than 70 years as a barbershop. Some of the most unforgettable characters of our history have already sat in these red armchairs.
  • Barbearia Sport: It was in 1942 that this barbershop settled in Porto. It happened in an era where one would spend more time embellishing their moustache than cutting hair.
  • Barbearia Invicta: Aventino Silva has been in this barbershop since the age of 10 and despite the arrival of the blades, he has not lost clients.
  • Barbearia Orlando: It already has two spaces in Porto but it is in the Rua Álvaro Castelões that the tradition, the customers and the conversations are kept on point.

Source: “Os bigodes à antiga e a arte de os fazer bem feitos” – Prova de Aptidão Artística (Artistic aptitude test) by Edgar Duarte (Escola Artística Soares dos Reis)

The fountain that changed location
20 July, 2018 /

The Fonte das Oliveiras was not always at Largo Alberto Pimentel.

The fountain was built in 1718 to make use of the waters of the springs that existed near the Rua das Oliveiras. In 1823, when the waters of the aqueduct of Paranhos were diverted, the source underwent a small remodelling. The fact that it was much sought after and that people occupied the streets while they waited to fill their jugs, influenced the decision to move it to a quieter place.

In 1866 it was dismantled and would be rebuilt in 1879 in the Largo Alberto Pimentel, where it is still present. It is set against a nineteenth-century building, with its facade tiled. In 1941 it was cleaned and restored.

The fountain is composed of a back and a central pillar. The only decoration is a shell that surrounds a dolphin, which works as a spout. The tank is also quite simple.

The Guindais elevator
16 July, 2018 / , ,

Today, we have a funicular but at the end of the 19th century an elevator made the route between the Batalha and the Guindais Pier. Inaugurated on June 4, 1891, it suffered, two years later, an accident that forced it to shut down for more than 100 years.

The lift emerged to link the Guindais Pier, where the boats came with food, and the Batalha which, by its central location, was a point of distribution of these products to other parts of the city. The difference between the highest and the lowest point was 75 meters but there were two different slope levels (7% and 47%). The Porto engineer Raul Mesnier made the project and the works began in 1889. The Guindais quarry was dismantled, the lift built and, after several tests, inaugurated in June 1891.

Transportation was made by three cars – one of balance and two main ones, with 5.6 meters of length and capacity for 40 people. In the central part of these cars there were luxury compartments, with rugs, upholstered seats and blinds. The trips were running every five minutes and cost 40 kings, but the huge investment needed to build and maintain the lift has never been offset by revenue. In 1893, an accident – with only material damages – dictated its closure. The current funicular was inaugurated in 2004.

Source: O Tripeiro 7ª série Ano XXII nº 3 March 2003

Beer made in Portugal
26 April, 2018 / ,

Beer is a favourite drink at any time of the year, but in summertime It is better to accompany a light meal, an afternoon on the terrace, or even at an open-air concert.

Beer and summer blend well and complement each other. Perhaps this is why the Portuguese, as well as great lovers of beer, are also producers of internationally recognized brands. This is the case of Super Bock, made a few kilometres from Porto, which is the only brand on the market to win 36 gold medals from the international Monde Selection da la Qualité. The colour, flavour, foam and body are unique and make it the favourite of the Portuguese and foreigners visiting Portugal. The same brewery also produces Cristal, the oldest beer in the Portuguese market. Existing since 1890, it has also won several gold medals. For those who prefer beer with less alcohol, Cheers ensures the best flavour and lightness.

 

Burning of the Ribbons – The great party of Porto students
26 April, 2018 / , ,

From May 6 to 12 the Porto university students are celebrating and the city is invaded by a huge wave of color and joy. Concerts, a gigantic parade and other cultural activities involve more than 350,000 students.

The tradition stands for decades. For a week, Porto’s university students are partying, going out in the street with their academic apparel, black robes and their top hats, walking sticks and ribbons in the folders that bear the color of each course. The party begins with a monumental serenade, at midnight on Sunday, the 6th. On Tuesday, during the afternoon and night, the students walk the streets of the city in a procession that ends up involving their relatives, townspeople and tourists. The march begins next to the Rectory of the University of Porto and ends in the Aliados.

The Blessing of the folders Mass, which also takes place in the Aliados, is another high point of an intense program, which also includes concerts in the City Park.

Igreja de Santo Ildefonso
18 April, 2018 / , , ,

The church of Santo Ildefonso has about 11,000 tiles on the front and sides of the bell towers.

These tiles were designed by Jorge Colaço, who also created the tiles of São Bento Station, and represent scenes from the life of Saint Ildefonso and the Gospel. They were placed only in 1931, but the construction of the church is much older.

The church of Santo Ildefonso began to be constructed in 1709, the first phase (still without the bell towers) being completed in 1730. In the interior there are eight stained glass windows and a retable in carved baroque and rococo of the first half of the 18th Century by Nicolau Nasoni. When visiting this church, located in the middle of downtown Porto, do not forget to pay attention to two large canvases measuring 5.80 x 4.30 meters, suspended on the side walls, painted between 1785 and 1792.

In the area of the choir there is a pipe organ of the early nineteenth century, which has been restored. The church also has vestiges of an old cemetery, discovered during the restoration works of recovery executed in 1996.

It was from the staircase of this church that in 1891 shots were fired that would end the revolution that was the first attempt of the implantation of the Republic in Portugal.

Centuries of tradition of exclusive taste – What you need to know about Port wine
18 April, 2018 / , , ,

Produced in the Douro region, it is world -famous and can be enjoyed in the most diverse occasions.

The terraces and the climate of the Douro allied to the experience gained over the centuries to create a unique wine in the world, with an aroma and unique flavours, which features a wide range of colours – ranging from (ruby to pale white, then passing to golden white) and sweetness (very sweet, sweet, semi-sweet or extra dry).

The aging process results in two different types of Port Wine. Ruby wines keep the red colour, fruity aroma and strength of a young wine. In terms of quality, they can be divided into Ruby, Reserve, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) and Vintage. The wines from the best categories, especially Vintage, can be stored for several years, as they age well in the bottle.

Tawny ports are obtained by blending different matured wines by aging in casks or vats. Colours can be red-tawny, tawny or tawny light and aromas evoke dried fruit and wood, characteristics that are accentuated with age. The existing categories are: Tawny, Tawny Reserve, Tawny with age indication (10 years, 20 years, 30 years and 40 years) and Vintage. They may be consumed shortly after bottling.

Francesinha – Recipe
18 April, 2018 / ,

The inspiration came from croque-monsieur, but the sauce was invented in a Porto restaurant and the Portuguese ingredients give it a unique flavor. It is one of the typical dishes of Porto, ideal for cold days and nights. Here is a simple recipe to make when you return home and miss Porto.

Sauce:

1 Beer

1 cube of Beef stock

1 Bay Leaf

1 tablespoon margarine

1 goblet of Brandy or port wine

1 tablespoon corn starch flour

2 tablespoons tomato puree

1 dl of milk

Piripiri q.b.

Method

Dissolve the flour well with the milk and add the remaining ingredients. Blend allthe ingredients together into a smooth paste. On the stove bring the ingredients to a boil until it thickens a little stirring always to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Sandwich:

4 slices of sliced bread (without crust)

2 steaks

2 sausages

2 Portuguese smoked thin sausages (linguiça)

2 slices of cheese

2 slices of ham

Season the steaks with salt and pepper and grill them, grill the sausage and the linguiça too. Toast the slices of bread. In a oven-proof dish place 1 slice of bread, the steak, the Sausage cut in half, slice of ham and finally the linguiça cut in half just like the sausage. Cover with the other slice of bread and place a slice of cheese over the bread. Pour the hot sauce over the sandwich covered with cheese and place in preheated oven to melt the cheese.

Oporto and the English – A friendship of centuries
18 April, 2018 / ,

The influence of the English in the city of Porto and specifically the Port wine is well known, but the relationship between Porto and British is much older.

The first contact took place around June 1147, when the English Crusaders who were going to the Holy Land stayed in Porto for 11 days waiting for the forces commanded by the Count of Areschot and Cristiano de Gistell, who had separated from the fleet due to a tempest at sea . The first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, on learning of this fact, tried to establish an agreement with their leaders, convincing them to help in the conquest of Lisbon from the Moors.

The relationship intensified during the middle Ages, with the establishment of commercial relations. Cloths, wine, wood, furs and fish were the products traded between the two countries.

The 2 of February of 1367 the Cathedral of the Porto was stage of the marriage between D. João I and D. Filipa de Lencastre, a union that would offset the support of the British in the fight against Castile. In 1642, two years after the restoration of Portugal’s independence, Porto receives the first British consul, Nicholas Comerforde.

Nicolau Nasoni – One the most influential figures in the architecture of Porto
18 April, 2018 / ,

Having reigned for over 30 years, architect-painter Nicolau Nasoni was effectively a sort of king of the arts without rivals.

Arriving in Porto in 1725, at the age of 34 (he was born in Tuscany in 1691), originally from Valletta, the Isle of Malta, where he had worked for some years for the Portuguese Grand Master D. António Manuel de Vilhena.

His great work of Malta, was painting the corridors of the Palace of the Grand Masters in Valletta. It was there where his fresco style was revealed and it would later be transferred onto the granite of Porto, in works such as the Cathedral or Sé, the Clérigos and the Igreja da Misericórdia. Roque de Távora, brother of the Dean of Porto, recommended Nasoni as a result of his spectacular ability to work.

 Nasoni gave Porto that urban grandeur which originates from possession of palaces and temples, monasteries and stately homes on a large scale, identified with a top notch artistic genius. And in the case of the great artist of Porto, this distinction is not limited to the field of architecture. It is also expressed in the painting, sculpture; both in stone and carving; gold engraving, wrought iron, to name some genius aspects of the extraordinary man who shaped and ennobled the city of Porto.

  

Article taken from the magazine “O Tripeiro” # 7, July 1996, VI series, Year VI