Lisbon, an European city
In a
continent where there are many capital cities with so interesting History,
impressive monuments and long been acknowledged cultures Lisbon stands with something
that makes the difference, something unique that it worth to experience: the unique
combination of a place with exciting History, lovely and open people, tasty
food, wonderful wine, the fado music and an excellent weather for vacations.
Lisbon city
has about 545,000 inhabitants and taking
into account the surrounding metropolitan area so it reaches 2.9 million
inhabitants in 2 870 km ².
Lisbon is a
city whose History is lost in time of human existence. Since the time of the
Phoenicians until today, the city continued to grow in importance having gone
through several periods of occupation by various civilizations that have shaped
the city.
Must have
been the Roman and Moorish civilizations that have left more traces of their
occupation of Lisbon. In buildings, the organization of the city, the way of
life in toponymy and many other areas you will find these traces.
It is
interesting to see that very often in Hollywood films related with the World
War II, Lisbon is referred as an espionage center. In fact, there is evidences
indicating that English, Germans and Americans were in Lisbon with that propose,
a true Casablanca of Europe.
During
almost 40 years (1933/1974) Portugal lived under a fascist regime that closed
the country to the exterior and that, with no doubt, delayed Portugal’s
international relations.
In the
years following the 25th April’74 revolution, the Revolution of the Carnations
that ended the fascist regime and stated a truly democracy, Lisbon suffered the
chaos that precedes any revolution with economic crises and social unrest. Only a few years later, during the 80s, the
city felt the force of progress.
From the
80s to the present day Lisbon exploded in the right direction. Infrastructure
renewals and people with new mentality are undoubtedly major drivers of such
development.
Today,
Lisbon is a modern city, an European city.
Why
visiting Lisbon? This will be a topic for another post.
Have a nice day.
David Monteiro
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