Field Trips

VISIT TO THE CITY OF PORTO

Porto, a World Heritage Site – form and function

Date: 23rd May 2024

Organisation: Jorge Ricardo Pinto, FLUP/ ISCET/ CEGOT

Description: Built on a promontory above the Douro, close to the Atlantic Ocean but at a safe distance, Porto is built like the nest of a bird of prey. At the top, a cathedral was built in the 12th century. Down below, a swarm of people crowded densely along the riverbank, filling boats with goods, walking along the old granite pavements, trading products from other destinations. On this route, we will walk through the crooked, winding streets that date back to medieval times in the historic centre of Porto, a World Heritage Site, in search of churches with Baroque façades, houses with medieval foundations and narrow alleyways that wind down the incline. Along the way we’ll find traces of other geographies, both temporal and spatial, that developed within the city’s old walls. The space is damp, sometimes mysterious, here and there, dark and gloomy, but every step reveals sights of the blue river where the masts of the old boats used to anchor. Here we go!