Category: About Lisbon

Visit Lisbon’s secret spaces for free. Open House Lisboa is an event organized every year by the Lisbon Architecture Triennale. It intends to unlock Lisbon’s architecture to the public and open the doors of the most spectacular buildings that are usually inaccessible. Along with having this rare opportunity, there are also plenty of other activities to enjoy like free guided tours, concerts and debates. This means that even if you aren’t an architecture enthusiast, you can participate and learn more about Lisbon’s history through its modern and ancient architecture. Open House also counts with editions in Oporto and several other cities spread throughout the world. Unlike previous editions, Open House Lisboa 2019 wants to show a decentralized Lisbon and add new exceptional buildings to the itinerary. If you want to find out all about the 2019 edition, then keep reading! We have some cool tips and news to share with you. Open House 2019 - The 8th Edition The Open House Lisboa 2019 will take place during 21st and 22nd of September and promises to bring lots of exciting news. Patrícia Robalo, the architect responsible for curating this year’s edition, invites everyone to discover a Lisbon without a centre. You’ll be presented to a city whose incredible architecture lies not only in its century-old monuments but also in its modern and trendy buildings. In this in mind, the year’s theme intends to leave Lisbon’s downtown architecture and expand to other areas of the city no less interesting. Spaces with architectonical importance, that have never participated in this project, will be added to the mix. Some of the examples for this year are the São Domingos Convent and the Music School of Lisbon. This means that you’ll have even more opportunities to enter inside Lisbon’s most well-kept secrets for free! Moreover,

Isn’t that divine? On St Martin’s day, celebrated on 11th November, you can find bread, chestnuts and wine on Portuguese tables! This tradition is maintained to mark the date when the saint was buried, in the French city of Tours, where he was the bishop and founded Europe's oldest monastery: Marmoutier. People believe that, on the eve of this day, the weather improves and the sun comes out; this is known as “St Martin’s summer” in Portugal. Discover the Portuguese traditions on St Martin’s day and the legend behind this festivity. St Martin’s summer Legend has it that, one rainy day, St Martin was riding his horse when he came across a beggar. When he saw the man shivering in the rain but had nothing to give him, he took his sword and cut the cloak he was wearing down the middle, to cover the beggar with one of the parts. Further along, St Martin came across another beggar and gave him the other half of his cloak, going on his way with nothing to protect him from the cold. At that moment, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine, and this good weather lasted three days. Divine revelation in a dream It is also said that, the following night, Jesus appeared to St Martin in a dream, wearing the cloak that he had cut in half and given to the two beggars on his journey. In this dream, Jesus, wearing St Martin’s cloak, turned to the host of angels with him and said out loud: "Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe.” Chestnuts: an autumnal treat in honour of St Martin Whether roasted or boiled, this celebration wouldn't be complete without chestnuts. The Portuguese consider them to be a real autumnal treat

Halloween is a celebration known throughout the world, originally associated with English-speaking countries but which now has a place in many non English-speaking countries. Portugal is no exception. But did you know that, until very recently, the tradition was to ask for Pão por Deus or “Bread in God’s name”? Discover this Portuguese festivity, which is Christian in origin, and its similarities with Halloween (both take place at the same time of year)! Whilst Halloween usually involves parties, costumes, the innocent blackmail of trick or treating, decorating your house, making pumpkin lanterns, guessing games or telling scary stories and watching horror films, the approach of Pão por Deus was somewhat more low-key. The principle of going from door to door asking for something is the same, but in the case of Pão por Deus, there are no costumes, no frights and it takes place in the daytime of 1st November. That said, Portuguese children do share the aim of filling their bags with sweets. Although the custom of Pão por Deus has died out in big cities, you can still find groups of children going from door to door on 1st November in more rural areas. This tradition is thought to have originated from a 15th-century Pagan ritual, which was revived in Portugal a year after the 1755 earthquake. On that 1st November, it seems that Lisbon’s poorest residents took the opportunity to go out and knock on the doors of those who were more fortunate, in an attempt to curb their hunger. The ritual may have begun in Lisbon, but it eventually spread across the whole country and the tradition was preserved over the years, especially outside of big cities, albeit with some changes. Originally, those “begging” were the poorest in society and bread was mainly given to them,