Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and the seat of the Lisbon District. Lisbon's name in Portuguese is Lisboa, and is derived from the ancient name Olisipo, which is thought to be a reference to either the Homeric hero Odysseus (Ulysses) or Elisha, a descendant of the biblical figure Abraham. Both Odysseus and Elisha have been credited as founders of the city, but modern scholars believe Lisbon was more likely founded by Phoenician colonists. Although the city has experienced political and natural turmoil throughout its history, it grew to become one of the most important economic and cultural centers in the Iberian peninsula, and in Europe as a whole.

Landscape

Lisbon, the largest city in Portugal, is the westernmost city in continental Europe. Lisbon lies on the north bank of the Tagus River, just thirteen kilometers (eight miles) from the river's Atlantic outlet and forty kilometers (twenty-five miles) from the western edge of continental Europe. It is known for having one of the most beautiful natural harbors in the world, as well as for its seven hills: São Jorge, Estréla, Santa Catarina, São Pedro de Alcântara, Graça, Senhora do Monte, and Penha de França.

Lisbon is roughly divided into five districts. The Chiado is Lisbon's most affluent neighborhood, and is also the city's major shopping district. After much of the district was destroyed by fire in 1988, it was rebuilt in a classical style mirroring that of the remaining structures, in order to retain the character of the area. The Baixa is a small, low-lying district in the center of old Lisbon, which was rebuilt with grid-like streets after most of the area was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake. Lisbon's center square is Rossio, also known as Praça Dom Pedro IV. Rossio is populated with small shops and cafés that serve as vantage points for viewing the bustling city.

The Alfama district of the city is one of the few sections that survived the 1755 earthquakes relatively unharmed. Nearby are the old quarters of Castelo and Mouraria, both of which are situated on the same hill that St. George's Castle sits atop. One of the most important and best-known areas of Lisbon is the neighborhood of Belém, lying just to the west of Lisbon proper. Belém, Portuguese for Bethlehem, was the origin of Vasco da Gama's famous expedition, before which he prayed in a small chapel built by Henry the Navigator.

Lisbon's climate, determined mainly by the Gulf Stream, is among the mildest in Europe. Temperatures range from 10 degrees to 27 degrees Celsius (50 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit) in the spring, and 16 degrees to 36 degrees Celsius (61 degrees to 97 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer. Winters are generally mild, with an average temperature of 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) and little to no snowfall, but significant rainfall. Prior to a brief snowfall in January 2006, Lisbon had not seen snow in forty years.

Because of climate change, Lisbon has had droughts, seasonal flooding, and extreme temperatures. The country of Portugal established the LIFE LUNGS program to increase the city's resiliance by implementing a climate adaptation strategy. In 2023, a scientific investigation was launched to assess the impact of climate change at the Jeronimos Monestery and the Belem Tower, two monuments in Lisbon that are more than five hundred years old.

People

Lisbon enjoys a high quality of life. It has one of the lowest violent crime rates among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries.

Despite the city's prosperity and culture, there is significant poverty in Lisbon, and even a community of shantytowns at the edges of the city. Most of these towns are populated by immigrants. Lisbon has been a popular city for immigrants, particularly from Africa, since the 1960s. During the 1970s, many exiles from Angola and Mozambique immigrated to Lisbon, as well. Other countries with a significant immigrant population in Lisbon are Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé e Príncipe, Timor-Leste, Brazil, and China. This has all resulted in a vibrant, diverse population. Greater Lisbon's population is about 2.986 million (2022) with approximately a half-million people living in the city itself.

Fado, a type of operatic folk song, is Lisbon's enduring and unique expression of cultural identity. The name means "fate," and the songs grew out of the pain and hardships of eighteenth-century working-class areas of Alfama. There are numerous venues designed specifically for the performance of these songs about love, death, and longing, essential features of Lisbon's character.

Economy

According to figures from the European Union, Lisbon's service industry employs the majority of the city's population. Tourism accounts for a significant portion of this sector, with 4.5 million people visiting Lisbon each year. Lisbon's insurance, consulting, and telecommunications industries are also major employers. Most of Portugal's financial service companies and banks also have headquarters or branches in Lisbon.

Portela International Airport, located just seven kilometers (four miles) from the city center, handled more than 28 million passengers in 2022, a number that continues to grow at one of the highest rates in Europe. Beginning in 2006, the airport underwent a significant expansion, adding a new terminal, expanding an existing terminal, reconfiguring the parking lots, and creating new shops and restaurants. The Lisbon Metro is one of the largest and most reliable in Europe, mainly connecting the city center with the northern and western districts.

One of the other major forms of public transit in the city is the tram, which was an idea imported from America; originally, the trams were called "americanos." There are four major tram lines connecting Lisbon and the surrounding suburbs. Lisbon's Metro has seen significant improvement in recent years, which, along with highway expansion and construction of the Vasco de Gama Bridge, has reduced traffic congestion in the city, particularly in the city center.

Lisbon's port, the largest in Portugal, handles many different types of cargo, including cars, grain, iron ore, and fruit.

Starting in late 2009, Portugal's economy suffered in what became known as the European sovereign debt crisis, which affected Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. In 2010, Portugal's government froze government wages, laid off some of its employees, increased privatization, capped wages, increased taxes, and instituted other austerity measures. On May 29, 2010, demonstrators gathered in Lisbon to protest these measures. In 2011, facing high unemployment rate and a recession, the government requested 78 billion euros ($92 billion) in bailout funds from the International Monetary Fund and European Union in exchange for a new rental law that liberalized Lisbon's housing market. Portugal exited the bailout agreement in 2014. Since then, Portugal's economy and Lisbon's real estate market have rebounded. The recovery has not affected everyone equally, however, and capital's higher property prices have displaced its less privileged residents.

Landmarks

The Twenty-Fifth of April Bridge (formerly the Salazar Bridge), the longest suspension bridge in Europe, is located in the west end of Lisbon, spanning the Tagus River. The Sea of Straw, where the river expands into a bay, is both an attractive natural feature of Lisbon's landscape and an important port on one of Portugal's busiest trade routes. The Torre de Belém, a tower that also sits on the bank of the Tagus, is a monument to the city's maritime history; the tower, which once protected the city from pirates, incorporates Moorish and Italian architectural influences.

In addition to such structures as the tower, which tell the story of Lisbon's maritime history, there is also the Museu de Marinha (Maritime Museum), in the Belém neighborhood. The museum contains full-sized boats and other vessels, although most of the artifacts date from the last 250 years, since so much of the city was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake. Much of what remains can also be found in the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia (National Archeological Museum), which is housed in the same building as the Maritime Museum.

Another major attraction in Lisbon is the Monument to the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos), also in Belém. The centerpiece of the monument is a statue of Henry the Navigator, the prince who was responsible for beginning the expansion that became the Portuguese Empire, with sculptures of several other people behind him on a structure designed to look like the bow of a ship. The monument also includes a mosaic map showing the discoveries made by Henry and other explorers. One of the most striking structures in the city is the Aqueduto das Águas Livres, an aqueduct eighteen-kilometers (eleven miles) long that brought the first fresh drinking water to Lisbon in the eighteenth century.

History

Based on the estimated age of ruins in Lisbon, archeologists believe that the city was inhabited as long as 300,000 years ago, although it was not formally founded until the twelfth century. Circa 1200 BCE, the Phoenicians established a trading post in Lisbon, capitalizing on the city's prime location. The city was eventually captured by the Romans, who renamed the city Felicitas Julia in 60 BCE, and ruled in Lisbon from 205 BCE until about 5 BCE. For several centuries during the first millennium CE, Portugal was controlled by the Moors, who established much of the character of modern Lisbon. In 1147, Afonso Henriques, who had recently declared himself the first king of "Portucale," captured Lisbon from the Moors.

In 1255, King Afonso III relocated the Portuguese capital from Coimbra to Lisbon, spawning a tremendous increase in growth and prosperity in the city. Lisbon eventually became the site of a power struggle between the Spanish and Portuguese leader João I, who prevailed in 1385, resulting in Portugal's first declaration of independence from Spain. It was João's son, however, who has the most prominent place in Lisbon's history. Henry the Navigator, as he was known, led many profitable expeditions to Africa and increased trade dramatically. When Vasco de Gama discovered a trade route to India in 1498, Lisbon suddenly found itself at the center of global trade.

Following the turmoil of the Spanish Inquisition, Portugal was once again under Spanish rule for almost ninety years. Once Portugal regained its independence in 1688, Lisbon again found itself prosperous and vibrant. The city undertook several expensive, large-scale building projects, most of which were destroyed in 1755, when Lisbon became the site of several large-scale earthquakes. The earthquakes, which began on the morning of November 1, 1755, destroyed about 12,000 homes in the city and several churches, where many people were attending mass for All Saints' Day. Between the damage of the earthquakes themselves and the fires and floods caused by the earthquake, more than 60,000 people died over a period of six days. The earthquakes, which originated on the Atlantic seafloor, also caused a tsunami with waves as high as six meters (twenty feet).

In 1807, Portugal was subject to another invasion, this time by the French, who sent the royal Portuguese family into exile in Brazil. This foreign rule essentially turned Portugal into a British colony until 1910, when the country again declared its independence as a republic. The turmoil continued for decades, until former finance minister António de Oliveira Salazar rose to power as prime minister. Salazar introduced stability into the turbulent nation, but also imposed many harsh restrictions during his new dictatorship.

With the death of Salazar in 1970, the totalitarian regime that had ruled Portugal for thirty-five years ended. The country floundered in the power vacuum that followed but quickly stabilized after a peaceful revolution. On April 25, 1974, revolutionaries demonstrated their desire for a peaceful resolution by waving carnations. Eventually, the soldiers who were running the government at the time responded by placing carnations in their rifles. This event became known as the Carnation Revolution. By 1986, Portugal was admitted to the European Community (now the European Union). Portugal's cooperation and communication with the rest of Europe was a particular boon to its capital; Lisbon thrived amid the country's new-found prosperity, eventually being named a European City of Culture.

On December 13, 2007, leaders of twenty-seven EU member nations signed the Treaty of Lisbon in the city. The treaty amended the EU's Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Rome with the intention of bringing more democracy, transparency, and efficiency, solidarity, and security to the union. The Treaty of Lisbon went into effect on December 1, 2009.

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