1d527 Conhecer « Itinerante

Knowing

Pico island: Senhor Bom Jesus Milagroso. The Symbol of the diaspora from the Azores

I’m stunned at the beauty of Pico! It is the first time I’m here and I’m impressed! However many pictures I may have seen, however much I may have read, nothing can describe the feeling of being at the Pico mountain. It’s imposing! It’s really a tall mountain…

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In Devil’s Land there is a Grotto with a legend, history and faith!

We have finally arrived! It is cold! During our 50 km travel on fairly decent roads from Viseu, the thermometer of the car dropped from 22oC to 13oC. And it is only lunch time; how will it be at night? The sky is grey; the prospect is not good…

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Cristo Rei, with Lisbon and the Tagus at your feet

I assure you: the Cristo Rei statue, located in the municipality of Almada, is the perfect place from where we can admire the beauty of Lisbon. And it is not difficult to get there. On foot, using public transportation or one’s car, it takes us ten to fifteen minutes to go from the centre of Almada to the Cristo Rei shrine with Lisbon at our feet. The cars on the bridge over the Tagus, the boats on the river, the bustle of a large city, all that can be enjoyed from a quiet and peaceful place overlooking it.

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The Balsamão monastery where you can hear the silence…

Let us start in the beginning. And in the beginning there is the legend. And as in all legends, this also begins with Once upon a time! Once upon a time… many, many years ago there was a Moorish king, a cruel tyrant that lived at the top of Mount Carrascal that forced the Christians to pay very high taxes and in order to humiliate them further, imposed the “damsels’ tax”: it was with the king that the damsels spent their wedding night.

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Brotas: or how the image of Our Lady appeared from a cow’s bone

Brotas… what a strange name! I look for its etymological origin and the answers are inconclusive. Has it something to do with the water that comes out (‘brotar’) of the spring that we find behind the shrine? Or with the daffodil (‘abrótea’), the plant that grew in this region? Or has it something to do with…?

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Loulé: Long live Our Sovereign Mother!

António, João, Fernando, Xavier, Luís, Armando, Tiago e Horácio are the eight litter bearers this year. For almost three hours they have the honour and the privilege of carrying the image of Nossa Senhora da Piedade all the way from the town square where the statue in honour to Duarte Pacheco stands to the Monte da Piedade where the little chapel is situated.

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Avessadas and the Infant Jesus of Prague: the perfect association!

Weddings and dowries were the beginning. In 1555 the Spanish noblewoman D. Isabela Manrique de Lara y Mendoza offers to her daughter Maria Manrique as a wedding present a small waxen statue 48cm tall representing God as a child.

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The forgotten Guard

Broadly speaking, we may say that the Fiscal Guard was the armed wing of the Ministry of Finance, especially of the Portuguese Customs during their 107 years of existence.

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In Extremo lands!

Many localities of the Portuguese-Spanish border in Central Portugal have strange names, but one of them stands out: Salvaterra do Extremo (Salvaterra of the Extreme)! It is indeed located in the extremity, the tip, the end. Being in the extreme is being farther away, more distanced, more isolated… What is living in the tip like? What kind of stories are told? Will they be extreme stories, bordering on the limit, almost crossing the line?

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The five pillars of smuggling, in Alentejo

Old documents attest the century-old existence of smuggling, the illegal transport of goods across borderlines. Smuggling is engaged to avoid the payment of legal duty; but it was between 1935 and 1960, on the border region of Campo Maior, Elvas, Sobral da Adiça and Santana de Cambas that smuggling became rampant.

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Talking with José Manuel Campos

Serra das Mesas, Fóios parish council, Sabugal municipality. It is a cold September morning, the sky is blue and cloudless. I am interviewing José Manuel Campos, the current president of the Fóios parish council, a remarkable storyteller with a deep knowledge of the smuggling activity of last century.

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Grutas de Mira de Aire – Discovering a subterranean world

1947 had been a year of dry weather, it hadn’t rained much in the winter and wells and cisterns were almost dry. Water had to be found. Someone then remembered that in the Old Mills area in Mira d’Aire, a jet of hot steam rose from a rift in cold days. Perhaps… It had to be checked!

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Al-rábita harbour – a natural sanctuary

At the heart of the unusual geological monument known as “Serra da Arrábida”, which is limited by the Ocean and the great southern rivers Tagus and Sado, there lies the Portinho da Arrábida bay adorned by the impressive Anicha Stone
(Pedra da Anicha)

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Formosa (Beatiful), the name of the river

Words are not enough to describe Ria Formosa.
Ria Formosa comprises the municipalities of Loulé, Faro, Olhão, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António, 16,000 hectares approximately of water, beach, marsh, both urban and agricultural environments and woods

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Peneda Gerês National Park: Natural wonder

The Peneda Gerês National Park is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of Portugal. It was the winner in the category of protected areas, and it was a fair prize

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Madeira Island, a pearl in the Atlantic!

No one knows who was the first man to catch sight of this island lost in the Atlantic Ocean. It was probably a seaman of Ancient Times caught unaware by a storm or by a deceitful wind! No one is sure about the date the Portuguese arrived there either

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Pico (Azores) – A unique mountain

Imagine an island with an area of 447 square kilometres, a very high mountain, fields covered with vineyards, many vineyards and much sea, the sea all around it… There is no need to imagine it! This island truly exists: it is the Pico Island

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Lagoa das Sete Cidades – Azores

The lagoa das Sete Cidades is the largest fresh-water lake in the Azores and is situated in the western area of the São Miguel Island

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A wonderful Portugal - The opinion of Francisco Ferreira

The selection of Portugal’s 7 Natural Wonders last September had the virtue of revealing the immense variety of the country’s landscape and its biodiversity

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The 5th October - The opinion of Lourenço Pereira Coutinho

Soon after the republic was proclaimed, a provisional government was formed that included some of the best known republican figures of the propaganda times. Most of the country, who had witnessed the fall of the monarchy with amazement, was hoping to understand the changes that the new Republic would bring. But in spite of the good intentions of many, little changed for the better

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An eminent man’s courage - by Joaquim Moedas Duarte

The merit of an act of courage must be judged by the risk involved. That’s why José Relvas run an inestimable risk when he joined the Portuguese Republican Party in 1907 at the time of the monarchy. He was 49 years old and of noble descent, he had three children, a magnificent mansion house just built in Alpiarça, a valuable collection of works of art and an expanding rural estate.

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A flag for the Republic

The date is the 11th January 1890: a memorandum of the British Government demands that Portugal should withdraw its troops on the valley of the river Chire. The Portuguese Government gave in to the English Ultimatum and our purposes of occupying the area between Angola and Mozambique, the famous “pink map”, failed.

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Ericeira: Embarkment Land

On the 5th October 1910 António Batalha Reis (1901-1982) was on holidays in Ericeira. He was not yet 10 years old but he didn’t forget what he witnessed on that day. Many years later and already retired, he wrote down on several notebooks the significant moments of his life and the embarkment of the Royal Family was one of them.

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Secrets of the Serra - The opinion of Alison Roberts

The eucalyptus groves are a modern addition, but the rounded, scrubby hills of the Serra do Socorro otherwise present a landscape little different from that encountered by the Duke of Wellington and his generals during the Peninsular Wars.

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The Peninsular War – A portuguese perspective - The opinion of Clive Gilbert

In the final years of the 18th century Portugal was in a serious and seemingly insurmountable situation following its decision to send an expeditionary force to assist Spain in 1793 under the 1778 Treaty of Pardo to fight the revolutionary French armies on the Spanish-French border.

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The Lines of Torres Vedras - The opinion of Lord Douro

I have had the great pleasure to visit the Lines of Torres Vedras on three different occasions. Each time I have marvelled at the scale and strategic importance of the Lines. No visitor can fail to be impressed by the forts which still survive.

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The Linhas de Torres Vedras Raid. A case of success - The opinion of Miguel de Vasconcellos Guisado

The Equestrian Raid, of which the 5th edition has just taken place, wants the promotion and valorisation of the whole potential of the historical and touristic heritage of the Lines of Torres Vedras, very little known and promoted at national level, but internationally acknowledged as the most effective system of defence of all times

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Lines of Torres Vedras: return to the past and a journey into the future

In this year of celebrations of the bicentennial of the Lines of Torres Vedras, Itinerante goes back two centuries in time and opens the memories chest in order to recall episodes that marked the passage of British and French troops during the Peninsular War. It will also look into the future and discover what is being done in the six municipalities where the defensive lines were built so that one of the world’s greatest works of military engineering that was decisive to Portugal and to Europe as we know them is not forgotten.

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(Português) DESAFIOS

Sorry, this entry is only available in Português.

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(Português) A vida de Santiago

Sorry, this entry is only available in Português.

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Promontorium Sacrum – Saint James, Menhirs, Gods let loose and Saint Vincent

The southwesternmost point in Portugal, a majestic and solitary promontory, has been since time immemorial a place of religious and mystical worship. Nowadays there are still traces of this rich history.

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LOCI IACOBI: From Alentejo towards Santiago de Compostela

The growing interest for Saint James Way in recent years has led to the rediscovery of parts of the Way which were forgotten though formerly very popular.

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On the road: A study on the reasons for pilgrimage to Fátima and Santiago de Compostela

What makes hundreds of thousands of pilgrims walk the ways to Santiago de Compostela and Fátima every year?

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Chatting with Frei Bento Domingues

Frei Bento Domingues, o.p., was born in Minho in 1934 and is nowadays one of the most respected and listened to voices when the subject is the Portuguese Catholic Church. It was difficult to schedule a meeting but it was worthwhile…

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(Português) Faróis do Mundo

Sorry, this entry is only available in Português.

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The Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Ancient World’s GPS

The world’s first known lighthouse is no longer standing, but its grandeur will never be forgotten. It was in the far-off year 280 bC that the Lighthouse of Alexandria was built.

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Ponta do Pargo Lighthouse: a lighthouse on a plane over the sea

I do like lighthouses and Ponta do Pargo Lighthouse in particular!

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Chatting with Joaquim Boiça

It’s a rainy evening. I’m in a bar at Torre beach near Oeiras and I’m waiting for Joaquim Boiça. There he is, a strong handshake, a permanent smile on his face, and an overwhelming want to talk about lighthouses.

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The Genesis of Maritime Signalling

Since the early days of mankind that water courses, rivers and lakes have not only attracted man but also caused fear in face of the unknown.

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From sea to land and from land to sea

We have talked with Fátima Santos, the daughter of the lighthouse keeper that lived in the lighthouse of Vila Real de Santo António until she was twenty years old. We have also talked with Manuel Seabra e Melo and Mário Silva whose seafaring years add up to more than half a century.

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Lighthouse keeper Martins dixit

- I served in the Navy and I have always liked the sea. I saw in the lighthouses the chance to go on being near the sea and at the same time to be with my family.

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The small great world of lighthouses and lighthouses’ keepers

Sandra Santos, the person in charge of the Santa Marta Lighthouse and Museum told Itinerante that there is in Portugal a “general lack of knowledge” about lighthouses and lighthouses’ keepers. And adds “the Lighthouse and Museum is an excellent opportunity for visitors to contact with this reality”…

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Lighthouses: Keepers of the Azores Sea

The lighthouses in the Azores islands are fairly recent; the Ponta do Arnel lighthouse, on São Miguel, was the first one to be built, in 1876. The golden age of lighthouse construction occurred between 1908 and 1927.

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Legend has it that…

Many places that thanks to the light of the lighthouses are natural indentations or projections of the coastline, although dangerous when the sea is rough, were sinister places before their existence and fed the most fertile minds.

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A sea full of stories and… shipwrecks

Many ships and lives were lost in the deep waters along the Portuguese coast.

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The language of lighthouses

The Lighthouse of Alexandria, the world’s first known lighthouse, was built in 280 B.C. Since then thousand of lighthouses have been built resorting to the most advanced technologies for their time.

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Life saving human signs

In Ericeira, a small fishing village 35 kms northwest of Lisbon, until the mid 90s of the last century the fishermen could count on the help of a signalman at the entry of the harbour.

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The French’s tin (cheek)… and the English’s too!

War times are innovation times. Napoleonic wars are a good example: the tin can, without which we can’t live nowadays, was thought of and developed at that time.

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Talking about Napoleon: a Berlin Chronicle - The opinion of José Constantino Costa

I am visiting Berlin for the first time and I am impressed by its monumentality. I like, in particular, the Brandenburg Gate, who existed already at the time of Napoleon

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FIRE!! Living history in the Lines of Torres Vedras with a tour guide - The opinion of Marco António Noivo

Our senses are awaken since the first moment we walk in the fort and we look throughout the valley in front of us, and to the other hills, as a wall, on both sides of our position.

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Gallopers and Figs… - The opinion of Miguel de Vasconcellos Guisado

On the 20th March 2010 another Equestrian Raid will take place.Do not forget to schedule this event in your diary. It falls on a Saturday. Come to Serra do Socorro and enjoy the landscape and the beauty of the horses, thinking that two hundred years ago they were running here in risky war missions.

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Portuguese soldier of the (light infantry) 6th Caçadores Battalion

This regiment had its origin in the Porto Caçadores Battalion which during the reorganization of October 28th, 1808 was incorporated in the Army and received the name of 6th Caçadores Battalion. Their most relevant participation in the French Invasions happened in the Battle of Roliça (August 17th,1808), the Battle of Vimeiro (August 23rd 1808) and the Battle of Buçaco (September 27th, 1810).

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(More) testimonials about the French Invasions

There are accounts of devastation and atrocities carried out by the belligerent troops almost all over Portugal, but it is in the villages near the Lines of Torres Vedras that these accounts are more vivid since it was one of the zones most affected by the passing and stay of the French and English troops.

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French Invasions – in the genesis of Contemporary Portugal

In the beginning of the 19th century, Europe was at war. The two great European powers fought over the hegemony of the Old World: France controlled the European continent and Britain controlled the seas.

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The Peninsular War – what is kept in our memory (and not only)!

Accounts that passed on from parents to their children about the terrible events of the invasion of Portugal by the Napoleonic armies as well as the long stay of the British armies have reached us. The majority is about resistance, ambush, conspiracy, executions by firing-squads, occupation of farms.

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Chatting with Maria Zulmira Castanheira

Professor Zulmira Castanheira is currently in charge of the Lisbon unit of CETAPS, the Centre for English, Translation and Anglo-Portuguese Studies, set at Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas of Universidade Nova de Lisboa. We talked to her about how the British look at the French Invasions.

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Rambling through the «Saloia» Region

There are plentiful points of interest to marvel at when rambling through the six municipalities that stretch across the Lines of Torres – Arruda dos Vinhos, Loures, Mafra, Sobral de Monte Agraço, Torres Vedras and Vila Franca de Xira. In addition to the military strongholds, which are part of our national heritage, there are many other examples of natural and architectural heritage that are worth a visit.

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Visiting the battlefields of the Peninsular War - The opinion of António Ventura

he French Invasions – the Portuguese designation – the Peninsular War – the designation with a more widespread use, especially in the English-speaking countries, but also in our country – and the War of Independence – the designation used in Spain. Three names for the same process.

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Stone statuary and the French Invasions

Examples of monuments evoking the Peninsular War can be found all over the country, particularly in the regions where the fighting was the most violent. The statues located in Lisbon and Porto stand out for their magnificence, beauty and emotional significance. Next time you go past these places, stop to admire these true works of art.

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The donkey and the Lines of Torres Vedras

Massena’s worn out forces come down the slopes of Bussaco and head towards the Lines of Torres, in the direction of the longed for city of Lisbon. The rough ground and the harsh weather are of no help.

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The Lines of Torres Vedras - The opinion of Alex Ellis

The Lines of Torres Vedras are a monument to vision, determination and co-operation. They are the product of both a man and a people. The man is Arthur Wellesley, the people are the Portuguese. The Lines are a joint work and a job well done.

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Communicating along the Lines of Torres

The Lines of Torres with an extension of 100km required a quick and effective communication system. Therefore Wellington sent for British seamen that were experts in the use of optical telegraphy by means of balloons.

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