Sintra Portugal
Sintra is a town and a municipality in the Grande Lisboa subregion of Portugal. The municipality contains two cities: Queluz and Agualva-Cacém. The population in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of 319.23 km².
Sintra is known for its many 19th-century Romantic architectural monuments, which has resulted in its classification as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although its heritage in buildings and nature is the most visible face of the historic individuality of Sintra, a whole literary heritage has made the area a legendary reference in Portuguese culture. It has become a major tourist centre, visited by many day-trippers who travel from the urbanized suburbs and capital of Lisbon. In addition to the Sintra Mountains and Sintra-Cascais Nature Park, the parishes of the town of Sintra are dotted by royal retreats, estates, castles and other buildings, including the Castelo dos Mouros, the Pena National Palace and the Sintra National Palace.
The proclamation of a Portuguese Republic in 1910, transformed the bohemian climate of Sintra. After 1910, economic development was promoted; the potential benefits in agriculture, industry and commerce to the region, especially after the 1908 delimitation of a vineyard zone in Colares, was used to foster development in the region. A commission was established to monitor the quality of wines, promote its exportation, and by 1914 commercial association established to manage their concession. Meanwhile, in the name of secular and popular "progress", cultural heritage was demolished, including the annexes of the medieval village bordering the Palace (1911) and the nave of the Church of the Misericórdia, was reduced to the presbytery for the benefit of a simple expansion of the road. The first decades of the 20th century represents the most rapid urbanization of the municipality, supported by its rail-link to Lisbon, and summer travellers.
The attack on patrimony lead to the creation of institutions, in the second half of the 20th century, to study and protect the vast artistic patrimony during the 1920s. The Instituto Histórico de Sintra under the direction of Afonso de Ornelas, had an important part to play in this period. Archaeological studies resulted in considerable development: in 1927, Félix Alves Pereira rediscovered the Neolithic settlements of Santa Eufémia, and the first publication of the discoveries at the prehistoric monuments of Praia das Maçãs were completed in 1929. From this period, until the 1970s, coastal Sintra began to become a summer destination, resulting in the construction of Portuguese summer homes. In this area, many of the important Portuguese architects developed projects in the first half of the 20th century, including Raul Lino, Norte Júnior and Tertuliano de Lacerda Marques. These project benefited the town and region, resulting in the natural growth of tourism and the residence of many notable Portuguese: historian Francisco Costa; writer Ferreira de Castro; scultpure Anjos Teixeira; architects Norte Júnior and Raul Lino; painters Eduardo Viana, Milly Possoz and Vieira da Silva; poet Oliva Guerra; composer and maestro Frederico de Freitas; historian Felix Alves Pereira and João Martins da Silva Marques.
An urban anarchy predominated until the middle of the 1980s, in the regions adjacent the main town of Sintra, resulting in new neighbourhoods. The 1949 municipal plan by De Groer, was elaborated to defend the town and its neighbourhood, from out of control urbanization, and resulted in the maintenance of an environment comparable to the 19th century Sintra.
Sintra Portugal Springtime 2014
Sintra Portugal
Sintra is a town and a municipality in the Grande Lisboa subregion of Portugal. The municipality contains two cities: Queluz and Agualva-Cacém. The population in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of 319.23 km².
Sintra is known for its many 19th-century Romantic architectural monuments, which has resulted in its classification as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although its heritage in buildings and nature is the most visible face of the historic individuality of Sintra, a whole literary heritage has made the area a legendary reference in Portuguese culture. It has become a major tourist centre, visited by many day-trippers who travel from the urbanized suburbs and capital of Lisbon. In addition to the Sintra Mountains and Sintra-Cascais Nature Park, the parishes of the town of Sintra are dotted by royal retreats, estates, castles and other buildings, including the Castelo dos Mouros, the Pena National Palace and the Sintra National Palace.
The proclamation of a Portuguese Republic in 1910, transformed the bohemian climate of Sintra. After 1910, economic development was promoted; the potential benefits in agriculture, industry and commerce to the region, especially after the 1908 delimitation of a vineyard zone in Colares, was used to foster development in the region. A commission was established to monitor the quality of wines, promote its exportation, and by 1914 commercial association established to manage their concession. Meanwhile, in the name of secular and popular "progress", cultural heritage was demolished, including the annexes of the medieval village bordering the Palace (1911) and the nave of the Church of the Misericórdia, was reduced to the presbytery for the benefit of a simple expansion of the road. The first decades of the 20th century represents the most rapid urbanization of the municipality, supported by its rail-link to Lisbon, and summer travellers.
The attack on patrimony lead to the creation of institutions, in the second half of the 20th century, to study and protect the vast artistic patrimony during the 1920s. The Instituto Histórico de Sintra under the direction of Afonso de Ornelas, had an important part to play in this period. Archaeological studies resulted in considerable development: in 1927, Félix Alves Pereira rediscovered the Neolithic settlements of Santa Eufémia, and the first publication of the discoveries at the prehistoric monuments of Praia das Maçãs were completed in 1929. From this period, until the 1970s, coastal Sintra began to become a summer destination, resulting in the construction of Portuguese summer homes. In this area, many of the important Portuguese architects developed projects in the first half of the 20th century, including Raul Lino, Norte Júnior and Tertuliano de Lacerda Marques. These project benefited the town and region, resulting in the natural growth of tourism and the residence of many notable Portuguese: historian Francisco Costa; writer Ferreira de Castro; scultpure Anjos Teixeira; architects Norte Júnior and Raul Lino; painters Eduardo Viana, Milly Possoz and Vieira da Silva; poet Oliva Guerra; composer and maestro Frederico de Freitas; historian Felix Alves Pereira and João Martins da Silva Marques.
An urban anarchy predominated until the middle of the 1980s, in the regions adjacent the main town of Sintra, resulting in new neighbourhoods. The 1949 municipal plan by De Groer, was elaborated to defend the town and its neighbourhood, from out of control urbanization, and resulted in the maintenance of an environment comparable to the 19th century Sintra.
Sintra Portugal Springtime 2014