Grand structures and architecture, Lisbon

This statue is modeled after the more famous one in Rio, and stands on the south bank of the Tagus. The figure of Christ is 28 m tall and was built by Francisco Franco from 1949-1959. You can get to the top of the 82m monument with a lift, plus some steps, and enjoy a beautiful view of Lisbon.

The theatre is named after Dom Pedro’s daughter, Dona Maria, and was built in the 1840’s. It sits on the north side of Rossio. The interior was destroyed by fire in 1964, and was re-built in the 1970’s. On top of the pediment is Gil Vincente, the founder of Portuguese theatre.

The gateway from Praca do Comercio to Rua Augusta is an impressive arch. The view from Rua Augusta through the arch, which frames the statue of King Jose I is beautiful, and one of the best pictures I took in Lisbon. It is also like a gateway from one world to the next, as the chaos of Praca do Comercio turns into the café lined Rua Augusta.

This monument sits prominently on the Belem waterfront and is an easy walk from the Torre de Belem. It was built in 1960, to commemorate the 500 anniversay of the death of Henry the Navigator, who sits at the tip of the monument, followed by many other famous Portuguese explorers. The central map shows the routes of the 15th and 16th century discoveries. The monument makes a great backdrop for pictures and I found myself examining the different designs for quite some time.

The Casa dos Bicos (literally translated House of Beaks) is one of Lisbon's highly peculiar house/building. This very conspicuous building is thoroughly encrusted with diamond-shaped stones or bosses looking as tho a cinematic backdrop or a vessel with an entire side thoroughly emblazoned with enormous spikes. Better yet, in accordance with its literal name, a house studded with several hundred giant beaks of some pre-historic birds. It's an oddity but also one which architecturally falls into a class by itself. That said, not one definitive description has so far been made to fully encapsulate Casa dos Bicos's enigmatic appearance except to describe it as part of the overall canon of Portuguese Manueline style.

Casa dos Bicos was built in 1523 as a residence of the illustrious Albuquerque family, intended specifically for an illegitimate son of Afonso de Albuquerque, conqueror of Goa and the Malaccas and Viceroy of India during the reign of King Manuel.

The strange-looking structure is believed to be an adaptation of the Mediterranean style houses fashionable in the 1500's. If so, then why was the Albuquerque family the only household in all of Lisbon ever to erect a house of this kind? Were they all wiped out without a trace with the exception of Casa dos Bicos by the great earthquake of 1755?

Heavily damaged by the great earthquake, this house went thru several restorations over the centuries and only during the 1980's did the two top floors were fully restored and recreated.

Casa dos Bicos nowadays serve as a fitting site for artistic exhibitions.

Our first glimpse of our new destination so often is the capital city and the first impression we get from this first glimpse is as important and lasting as the final hours of the trip.

Not very many cities in the world offers a grandiose overview of its layout and topography upon one's initial approach or descent to its territory by all means - from a flight, on a ship entering its harbor, via a sinuous train ride or even from a straightforward bus ride - and then you feel so exceedingly exhilarated that a beautiful beginning to a trip can very well be an indicator as well of a grand journey and experience of a place.

One such city is Lisbon. Approached by any means, the city opens up and pops into your senses like a coy apparition. And one eye-fetching arrival to this most astonishing city is by boat or ferry when one is coming from the Alentejo region or from the suburbs just across the estuary of the River Tejo and to be deposited right at the steps of Praca do Comercio the handsome broad wide square in the lower part of the city called Baixa.

Upon arrival this way, the first thing that grabs the visitor's eye right away is the impressive monumental arch gateway to the heart of the city. It's a massive structure built in the mid-1800's as part of the overall re-design of lower Lisbon totally devastated by the big earthquake of 1755. The triumphal arch is Pombal's (Marquis de Pombal) piece de resistance and the culmination of the grand exhaustive rebuilding of the city.

The arch which took more than a decade to complete is very much neo-classical in design and is populated with figures as the graceful deities and some of Portugal's important players in its glorious history such as Vasco da Gama, the poet Luis de Camoes, King Manuel I and of course the Marquis de Pombal himself, the very practical and unsentimental prime minister at the time of the horrific earthquake.

So when you're down in this area - the Baixa - make sure to extend your stroll all the way towards the river front at Praca do Comercio and marvel at this arch which is a supreme symbol of Lisbon's resurrection.

Another aspect of Lisbon is its art-deco buildings. They are spread throughout the city center however away from the historic districts.
To my eyes, it's its art-deco buildings that make Lisbon to remind me of a German city, particularly Berlin.
Lisbon is a city of imitations. Many of its corners remind of other places around the world: Rome, Paris, San Francisco, Istanbul, Rio, Prague, Moscow, Madrid, London, etc.
A fine example of the art-deco style lies in Restauradores Square, next to the tourism office: The Eden Theatre.
It was built in 1932 as a mega-cinema, when cinema was the only form of entertainment to gather the masses.
Its architect built many buildings and apartment blocks in Lisbon, using the same style. His name: Cassiano Branco.
50 years later, following the fate of other cinemas, the movie theatre became redundant for his original function. Following a public outcry in support to preserve the building, a solution was found. The building would be demolished and rebuilt as a hotel, but the facade and the inner long stairways would be kept.
So, this is the new face of the Eden Theatre as an expensive (I think) hotel. The hole with plants behind the facade and the glass walls are new. The facade is the original Cassiano Branco's art-deco facade.

Formerly simply known as the Sports Pavilion, it was renamed after the Portuguese Olympic marathon gold winner Carlos Lopes.
It's on the east side of Eduardo VII park, close to Parque metro station.
The pavilion was built in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for an international exhibition. It was later rebuilt in this park. It has a rink inside, so has been used for indoor sports, mostly rink hockey.

Rink hockey is a sort of ice hockey (without ice, with roller skates and a hard ball) and it is virtually unknown outside the four countries that best play this sport: Portugal, Spain, Italy and Argentina. It was and yet it is very popular in Portugal.
It was in this pavilion that some world championships in rink hockey took place. Portugal is still the country in the world with more world titles in rink hockey, despite the decrease in popularity of this sport in recent years.

The pavilion is now closed as it's being transformed in another museum: The Sports Museum.
Take a look at the tiles panels at the facades of the building.