July 27 – Porto – Careful what you wish for!

World Youth Day is in Lisbon August 1- 6. Started by Pope John Paul II in 1985, its goal is to “assure young Catholics (age 14-30) of their capacity to perpetuate the Church’s traditions spirituality and work within the world”. The final Mass given by the Pope has had anywhere from 500,000 to 5 million attendees. Young people come from all over the world, and some (lots, actually) apparently decided to come to Porto this week before going to Lisbon. So I go from complaining churches are not open, and those that are have nobody in them, to having churches FULL of young people. Barb is trying to convince me that these “vibrant youth” is a wonderful thing, and I should be grateful the churches are crowded and noisy. I agree – just wish they would get out of my way and stay out of my pictures!

In 1881 they constructed the Dom Luis I Bridge across the Douro river. At the time, it was the longest in the world. There was a sister bridge, looking the same, designed by Gustave Eiffel (of the Eiffel Tower). I didn’t know Eiffel helped engineer and construct the structure for the Statue of Liberty (for US Centennial in 1876) in Paris before shipping to New York.

Porto is famous for blue tiles on churches and buildings. Around 1500, King D. Manuel I went to Spain and saw the tiles and had some sent back to put on his palace in Porto. The blue and white tiles were seen as power and wealth. Wealthy people would order tiles for their churches with biblical scenes on them. While there are buildings all over Porto with different color tile facades, churches are strictly the traditional blue and white.

The churches below were interesting. There are two churches separated by “the hidden house” that is a meter wide, three story home that served to separate the nuns and priests of the two Carmelite communities. The one on the right, from the 17th century, was for the Carmelite nuns to worship in and on the left, from the 19th century, for the priests to worship. Notice the green gate and the meter-wide, three story house in between that separates the two! Apparently it shares the distinction of being one of two of the most narrow homes known.