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AC Porto
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The hotel AC Porto is a new four-star. Built as a design hotel, ideal for both business and...
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Portugal: Search for areas
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Oporto
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Description
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Porto (in English also Oporto), formerly Portucale, population 263,000 in 15 parishes, with 1,551,950 in the metropolitan area, is Portugal's second city and district seat. It is situated in the north of the country, on the northern bank of the Douro River, just in the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
The country of Portugal and Port Wine (Portuguese: Vinho do Porto) owe their names to the city of Porto.
Historic references to the city go back to the 5th century and to Roman times. In the period before the foundation of Portugal, it was named Portus Cale - Harbour of Cale in English. The surrounding county was thus named Condado Portucalense (English: Portuguese county). This county later became the independent kingdom called Portugal, which eventually expanded to its current frontiers south as it reconquered territory back from the invading Moors under the reign of King Dom Afonso Henriques, o Conquistador in the beginning of the first millennium.
This city was the scene for the marriage of João I and Philippa of Lancaster, symbolising the long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England.
In 1754, the Italian architect Nasoni designed a tower that was built in one of the central zones of the city and became its icon: Torre dos Clérigos (English: Tower of the Clerics).
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became an important industrial centre and saw its size and population increase. A two-level iron bridge - Dom Luís I - (designed by the Belgian engineer Téophile Seyrig) and a railway bridge - Maria Pia -, designed by Gustave Eiffel, in association with Seyrig, were constructed, as well as the central railway station (São Bento, considered to be one of the most beautiful in Europe ornamented with lavish painted tiles). A university (Aula de Náutica, 1762) and stock exchange (Bolsa do Porto, 1834) were established in the city.
In recent years, UNESCO recognised the historic centre (which dates back to the Middle Ages and the Roman Empire) as a World Heritage Site.
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