Ola pessoal!
My wife and I just returned from an incredible week in Portugal, hence my radio silence on Substack these past 10 days. To make up for the missed posts, I’m combining my usual Saturday newsletter with my midweek rant to share some fun facts I learned about this Iberian wonderland. Instead of focusing on Fado music, the Fatima pilgrimage, and Futebol, I want to highlight three other alliterative aspects of O Rectângulo (a reference to Portugal’s shape).
To set the tone for these revelations, consider this quote from Portugal’s greatest playwright:
“Let the world tremble as it senses all you are about to accomplish.”
— Luís de Camões
Extraordinary Early Explorers
If I asked you to name a famous Portuguese person, odds are you’d name … well, probably Cristiano Ronaldo.
But, after him, you’d likely rattle off a list of explorers, the intrepid navigators who literally put Portugal (and many other countries) on the map. Not only did Portuguese explorers kick off the Age of Discovery, but many of the greatest feats of navigation were performed by these seafaring superstars. Inspired by the early voyages that Henry the Navigator planned and funded, men from Bartolomeu Dias to Vasco da Gama to Ferdinand Magellan sailed the world, leaving their homeland’s mark on South America, Africa, and Asia.
There’s even a theory that Christopher Columbus hails from Lusitania (that’s the old Roman name for the region), or at least developed his sailing chops during some stints on Portuguese voyages before his famous 1492 outing. The jury is still out on how deep his roots go in this land of great explorers, but he’d certainly be welcome in their pantheon if he belongs there.
Astounding Arabic Azulejos
Over a thousand years ago, long before they sailed the world, the Portuguese experienced a different Golden Age: the Muslim one. From 711 to 1249, Portugal was Moorish territory, just like its neighbor Spain. The Arabic influence on Portuguese history can be seen in its language, its customs, and its food.
This Arabic influence also remains all over Portugal’s walls. The iconic azulejo — glazed decorative tiles adorning countless facades and interiors all — is a Moorish invention. The word means glazed in Arabic, and besides being beautiful, these tiles are inexpensive yet durable, as well as serving a functional purpose. Glazed tiles are easier to clean and maintain than other exterior materials, plus they help keep the buildings cool in this sunny, dry climate (Lisbon boasts 260 days of sunshine per year!).
Curiously Conceived Calçada
Equally functional yet decorative are the ubiquitous calçada, the limestone-and-basalt sidewalks running along nearly every street, praça and praia in the country. Legend has it these gorgeous walkways were not originally designed for human foot traffic, but because of animals — specifically, a rhino.
Apparently, King Manuel I had a big birthday in the year 1500, just as the exploration money really started to roll in. Vasco da Gama had returned from India for the second time, and the king there sent Manuel a rhino as a gift. Not wanting to ruin his fine palace floors (or get mud all over the carpets), Manuel ordered a decorate limestone walkway installed leading from his palace to the dock where the rhino was to be delivered.
Sadly, the rhino’s boat sank and the poor creature drowned, so the king didn’t get his two-ton gift. However, the fancy walkway pleased him and impressed the gathered crowds, so these paved paths began to spread across Lisbon. By the 1800’s, many cities in Portugal adopted the style, and the Portuguese employed it in their colonies from Brazil to Mozambique, India to Macau.
Today, these wondrous walkways are starting to fade away, replaced by simpler, cheaper (and less dangerous) options like concrete and asphalt. Still, certain locales want to hang on to this soon-to-be-lost artform. If you had the choice, wouldn’t you rather walk on pavement like this?
Prodigious Poetic Powerhouses
Despite their fondness for seafaring, the Portuguese considering their country “the Land of Poets,” revering their men of letters at least as much as their finest sailors. In fact, their national hero was both — a poet and sailor (and courtier and all-around rabble-rouser) who wrote the longest Portuguese poem about their other national hero, Vasco da Gama.
This poet, Luís de Camões, was a true Renaissance man. Although he came from a well-to-do family, he had a rough-and-tumble attitude, speaking boldly in court and starting fights around town. He was sent away by the king because he caused so much trouble, embarking on several wild voyages (including one where he lost an eye). He eventually returned to Portugal a more worldly and milder man, full of great stories to tell.
However, he chose to write about someone else instead: Vasco da Gama, the first European to sail to India and back. This epic poem, Os Lusíadas, earned Camões the reputation as “the Shakespeare of Portugal,” shaping both the language and literary tradition of his country to this day. In fact, the Portuguese celebrate June 10th every year, not in memory of a great battle or their day of independence, but because that’s the date Camoes died.
The Portuguese poetic spirit, however, lives on. From Chiado to Pessoa, Lusitania’s lyrical legends continue to express the complex souls of their homeland. Modern musicians evoke the same saudade — an untranslatable feeling of melancholic yearning unique to Portuguese people — that Fado singers have sung about for ages. Whether this heartache stems from their aspirations to set off exploring across the sea, or the painful longing for the Golden Ages they once enjoyed, it’s clear that Portugal’s soul is deeper than most people realize.