EVER BEEN TO THE TOP OF your CITY HALL?

I had never even set one foot inside that building...! (honest confession)

Fact is, unlike many cities around the world, Porto does not have daily or weekly tours of the city hall.  There are, however, arranged visits on special occasions and one monthly opportunity, if you book in advance (see bottom of this post).   

So, this was THE gap on my 'rap sheet', considering I am a tour guide in Porto and slightly 'hooked on' History...!

NOT ONE  but THREE DIFFERENT BUILDINGS

Allured by the promise of visiting the tower, (finally!!) I registered for a group tour - not a running tour, unfortunately :).  As a bonus, the Architect guiding the tour also lead the group to 3 other locations where local politicians discussed the fate of Porto during the previous centuries. Hence this handful of photos you'll see, some of old demolished buildings and some fresh, from inside and from the top of the present building's central tower. Got 2 minutes?

At the top of Aliados Avenue, the present city Hall is turning 60 this year!

​THE MEDIEVAL CITY HALL

The building of Porto's Cathedral dates back to the 12th century (church below, left side of the photo). A few meters away and two centuries later another building emerged, nowadays renovated and with more modern design (structure on the right side). This was the first known city hall of Porto, also known as 'the house of the 24' and, judging from proportions, I think it's easy to take conclusions about  'which power was dominant back then: religious or political'... ;-)

photo credits: Porto Sombrio (blog)

At the base of the renovated building (renovations took place in 2002), there are still some of the original stones that made up the structure of the old medieval city hall. ​The tour I took, guided by the City's department for Culture, started right inside.

​THE  CITY HALL in the 1800's

Our next stop was 'Aliados', the avenue, a central axis of the older part of the city. There is a lower section still known as 'Praça da Liberdade' - directly translates as 'Freedom's square'. This smaller square was limited to the north by two Palaces at the time, both occupied by the city council and turned into the City Hall.  While these two buildings were demolished before 1916 to make room for the new enlarged avenue, 'Aliados' (as we locals call it), all other still stand. One of them, Palácio das Cardosas,  is now a 5-star Hotel, part of the Intercontinental group.

photo credits: Porto Desaparecido

Front and top of the old building (the one to the right) and framed in red: the sculpture of a Roman warrior, called 'o Porto', a statue that is now placed near its original location, in the Aliados Avenue. In its head: a small dragon, one of the symbols of the city - learn more about dragons here.

'O Porto', a statue of a roman warrior, full of symbolism. It was once part of the 19th century building serving as city hall.

​THE PRESENT BUILDING

Our final  stop: the city Hall. And we got to climb to the top of the central bell tower!  

Present City Hall under construction, c.1920. Due to several factors, it took more than 47 years to de completed. Photo credits: Monumentos Desaparecidos (blog). 

​Present façade and below, the city's coat of arms and motto: "Old, very noble, forever loyal and unvanquished city of Porto"

​slideshow

Central stairway, murals, paintings and the tapestries draped on the walls of the official meeting room. Many are the portraits of truly important personalities that helped writing utterly important chapters of the city and the country's History.

slideshow

Above: the tapestries. These amazing pieces of artwork were designed by Guilherme Camarinha - an artist from Porto - and produced in Portalegre and pretty much sum up Porto's history, from times when Portugal wasn't even born as a country.

​
Below, a few photos taken while ascending to the central tower.

tap to enlarge photos

​Porto, as seen from the top of City Hall's bell tower:

slideshow

​Please notice: Visits to Porto's city hall present building and tower are limited to one a month, every 1st Sunday of each month and must be booked in advance and in person at Gabinete do Munícipe.