Historical Lisbon, Global City

Photo by Hubert.

Historical Lisbon, Global City is part of the Tentative list of Portugal in order to qualify for inclusion in the World Heritage List. It is a proposed extension of WHS.

Historical Lisbon is the result of the exchange between peoples and cultures over the centuries since the first settlement in the 7th century BC. The characteristics of the Roman, Islamic and medieval settlements are still visible in the historic quarters. Significant events in Lisbon's history were the globalisation initiated by the Portuguese discoveries in the 15th century, the subsequent massive expansion during the Renaissance, and the reconstruction of the Baixa Pombalina after the earthquake in the 18th century.

Map of Historical Lisbon, Global City

Load map

The coordinates shown for all tentative sites were produced as a community effort. They are not official and may change on inscription.

Community Reviews

Write a review


GabLabCebu

Philippines - 13-Sep-19 -

Historical Lisbon, Global City (T) by GabLabCebu

"Global City", indeed. Lisbon is one of the world's most important historic cities for launching the world into the Age of Exploration, but how much of that same Lisbon is left? Not much, as in place of the primary components of this long gone seat of worldly power stands Pombaline Lisbon, for which the few remains from the earthquake were demolished to create a brand new city from scratch. Indeed, much of the OUV claimed by this T-list site is based on what once stood and what now stands in that district. The sad truth is that this global city is no more, in structure and in present-day context, but Lisbon as a historic city does show itself in other areas.

I visited Lisbon in May 2017, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. On the day I arrived, I spent the afternoon in the hill district of Alfama and its highlight, Castelo de São Jorge. The district is more aesthetically pleasing than the 18th century Pombaline area, as the buildings seem older and more interesting, and the roads weave around in a labyrinth across the hillside. This was the old Muslim quarter, and this layout is all that really remains from that period. A short walk uphill leads to the citadel of São Jorge, which contains a great viewpoint of Lisbon, an archaeological museum of the site, and a bunch of peacocks that hang out in the trees and yards. Then of course, there's the main castle, or castelejo. It's an impressive and well-preserved medieval construction, surrounded by a (now dry) moat and thick walls with the iconic little square indentations found on the wall tops of medieval castles. Nearby is its archaeological zone, with excavations revealing levels of Roman and Muslim occupation. A few days later, we visit the Sé, the Romanesque cathedral of Lisbon with belltowers much like those in the castle.

So is the global city a worthy World heritage Site? Seriously, that title is getting cheesy. No, as great as the sites I visited were, they were in no way an indication of this cultural and imperial center of the world they claim Lisbon to be. The significance of the Age of Discovery is much better manifested in the already-inscribed Belem sites. Only Pombaline Lisbon can truly claim human genius, innovation, structural influence, and adaptation to natural conditions, and therefore has a stronger case on its own. All the rest of Lisbon has is its long rich history, demonstrated in the layout of Alfama, the architecture of places like the Castelo and Sé, and the various archaeological layers in the citadel. Is that enough to prove a clear OUV? Unfortunately, I think not, but together in one city, they do make an interesting case. I just don't want Lisbon to fall into the same fate as Rome and Paris, having all kinds of sites and areas grouped into a single site, but that may be the only way to get some of these precious areas inscribed. I still love Lisbon, I just don't think this particular approach (area grouping and theme/title) is the right one for it as the World Heritage (not Global!) city that it truly deserves to be

 


Ilya Burlak

USA - 24-Jun-19 -

Historical Lisbon, Global City (T) by Ilya Burlak

Both the description and the OUV justification on the tentative WH submission for Lisbon outline with significant detail the uniqueness of the city history and its importance in the Age of Discoveries. And yet, ask practically anyone who had toured Portugal to name their favorite stops in the country, and it is highly unlikely that the capital would feature even among the top five.

This lukewarm impression is not entirely unfounded. Lisbon is visually muted; the building façades are uniformly flat and, while varying in color and occasionally covered by tiles, are mostly devoid of decorative elements aside from narrow balconies. Signs of neglect or at best of unenthusiastic upkeep are found frequently all over the city. And there isn’t really anything that could be called an unmissable iconic sight.

But if you give Lisbon enough time it will grow on you. Walk around long enough and you will find quaint pleasant pockets as well as bouncy vibrant areas, eye-catching vistas as well as attractive architectural samples. And while there may not be a museum or a historical monument contending for the world-class status, there are plenty of points of interest befitting a large metropolitan city. Every one of the central neighborhoods - Baixa, Alfama, Chiado, Bairro Alto, etc. - has something to offer.

The city's oldest architectural features are by and large about 250 years old - it was leveled by a great earthquake in 1755 and almost entirely rebuilt thereafter. As you walk around, you will more and more appreciate the challenging topography of its central areas. Lisbon is blended into several fairly steep hills. Although you will find relatively flat areas in the most central area of Baixa (and generally closer to the riverfront), practically any sizable walk will take you through significant changes in elevation. The stairway streets are often unavoidable. On the flip side, there are many elevated viewpoints throughout, offering sweeping perspectives over the city.

I gave two halves of non-sequential days to exploration of central Lisbon on a recent Portuguese itinerary. That was sufficient to get a fill of all of its central areas, step into a couple of major churches, survey the city from the Arch of Rua Augusta and from a couple of miradouros, visit a palace and a museum (both of which are not necessarily part of the WH submission as far as I can gather), browse a lively market, stop by for ginginha on more than one occasion, and catch sunset at one of the lookouts. Unless you are an intrepid museum-goer, I doubt that you can stretch your enjoyment of Lisbon to more than a couple of days. But I certainly think it deserves an eventual WH recognition on par with other great European capitals.

 

Read more from Ilya Burlak here.


Kyle Magnuson

California - United States of America - 30-Jul-18 -

Historical Lisbon, Global City (T) by Kyle Magnuson

This patchwork or tapestry (take your pick) of historical Lisbon spans sites (not limited to) a Roman theatre, São Jorge Castle (Moorish 10th century), Sé Cathedral (13th century), and 18th century Pombaline Lisbon. Logistically, the boundary of such a diverse span of history in Lisbon would include a large territory spanning several neighborhoods. Here listed: Alfama, Bairro Alto, Baixa, Bica, Castelo, Chiado, Mocambo, Mouraria, Pena, Santa Clara, São Vicente and Sé.

Prepare comfortable walking shoes as these areas cover the hills/stairs of Afalma, the waterfront, and central Lisbon. Besides walking, the metro train is convenient, the tram system includes 6 routes, and perhaps surprisingly "Tuk Tuk" 3-wheeled vehicles navigate the hard to reach medieval hillside streets. 

Lisbon is a city that is perhaps still discovering what makes it unique. It is special no doubt and worth exploring, but the two Lisbon nominations do reveal the complex web of cultures and architectural themes that are on display. 

Read more from Kyle Magnuson here.


Caspar Dechmann

Switzerland - 06-Feb-18 -

Historical Lisbon, Global City (T) by Caspar Dechmann

This nomination certainly overlaps with the nomination of Pombaline Lisbon but includes additionally all the other areas of the older city center. When the text for Pombaline Lisbon seems already a bit enumerative and unfocused this is even more the case for his nomination. Lisbon certainly has a long history that starts from the Phoenicians and the Romans, but nothing is left of the first and very little of the second. The also nominated area on and around the Alfama hill is very nice and based on the old islamic city but of this seems only the layout left and there are much better preserved islamic quarters in world heritage cities like Granada and Cordoba, to name only some examples in Europe. The very important era of exploration is very prominently covered with the Monastery and the Tower in Belem. Perhaps the most important part is the Baixa, the central quarter that was rebuilt after the big earthquake. In addition the text mentions among many things the Azulejos, the miradouros and even the Fado. 

Lisbon is a very interesting city with many distinguishable nice neighborhoods and full of history but I think it is neither coherent nor various enough to justify a nomination of the entire old city. I found the old city of Porto not necessarily more interesting but more coherent and beautiful from a touristic point of view. I think though Lisbon stands a chance if it concentrates on the Pombaline Lisbon and its influence on aseismic construction and on modern city design. Together with Belem they would have two sites within the city or even three if you include the glorious area of Sintra.

 


Full Name
Historical Lisbon, Global City
Country
Portugal
Added
2017
Extension of
WHS
Type
Cultural
Categories
Urban landscape - Post-medieval European
Link
By ID
2017 Added to Tentative List

The site has 1 locations

Historical Lisbon, Global City (T)

Visitors

Community Members have visited.

A. Mehmet Haksever AC ALS Adolfo Aidan Coohill Airpunk Alex Alexander Lehmann Alexander Parsons Ali Zingstra Alikander99 Allan & Lucia Alvaro1404 Amy Tull Argo Ask Gudmundsen Aspasia Astraftis Aurora Petan Bergecn BobSmithseestheworld Bodil Ankerly Boppare Bori Sári Bram de Bruin Buffy Butterflybird CalvinLoh Can SARICA Carlos Sotelo Carstenhansen Caspar Dechmann Cgrannem ChenMing Chessjsr Chinmaya Chris Law Christoph Christravelblog Claire Bradshaw ClaireWhiteley Cluckily Cobaltrage Craig Harder Ctravel CugelVance DMORMAR Dagmara Dan Pettigrew Dani Cyr Daniel C-Hazard Daniel Gabi Daniela Hohmann David Berlanda Debfc Dimitrios Polychronopoulos Don Irwin Doubanjiang DouglasR Drazsika Dreamcatcher Echwel Ecritures Edstar500 Els Slots Eric PK Errol Neo FS Farinelli Federico P. Feldhase Femke Roos Filipacfa Fotoula Francky D'Hoop Frankwsolak Frederik Dawson Frédéric M GabLabCebu Garellos Geert Luiken George Evangelou George Gdanski GeorgeIng61 Ghostbear Gilles Gordon Mitchell Greekmuse06 Grzegorz Andruszkiewicz Gwythyr Hadrianus Hammeel HannahJoergensen HaraldOest Hasco Hubert Ian Cade Ilya Burlak Ingrid Inigo Cia Iprofaca@gmail.com Izzet Ege J Mitchell J. Stevens Jakob Frenzel James Bowyer James F Jan-Willem Jana and Matt Jarek Pokrzywnicki Jasam Javier Coro Jay T Jaysutton79 Jean Lecaillon Jeanne OGrady Jmrauch95 JoStof JobStopar Joel on the Road Johnson Zhao Jon Eshuijs Jonas Kremer Jose Antonio Collar João Aender Judit Dalla Juha Sjoeblom Jungliemonkey Juropa Kasia M. KentishTownRocks Kevin Padley-Knight Kevin247 Khuft Kim, Soo-youn Koen Vliegenthart Krzysztof B Kyle Magnuson Lara Adler Lars Jensen Lichia Ligocsicnarf89 Lucio Gorla Ludvan M. Huineman de la Cuadra MAURO PODDA MH MMM MaYumin Maki Wang Marcobrey Mariam Martina Rúčková Marton Kemeny Matejicek Mateusz Matthewsharris Max Smits MaxHeAnouBen Małgosia Łupicka Mdnichol Mibive Michael Turtle Michael anak Kenyalang Michaelsballard Michiel Dekker Mikita M Misio_pysio Misswanderlust MoPython Mohboh Monchan5396 Monica Tasciotti Nan Nikolamus Nmocosta Nolan B. PJ Pandapearls Pascal Cauliez Patrik Patrik_globe Paul Schofield Paulino Michelazzo Persian Globetrotter Peter Lööv Petri Jurescu Philipp Peterer Pierre T Pieter Dijkshoorn Pink Bunny Pressdm Priyaranjan Mohapatra Q Ralf Rotheimer Randi Thomsen Reiseblitz Reisedachs Remigiusz Riccardo Quaranta RobRos Roel Sterken Roger Ourset Roman Bruehwiler Roman Koeln Roman Raab Rudegirl SaoDies Sascha Grabow Sclowitz Shandos Cleaver SirLoydd Sncjob Solivagant Sophie Squiffy Stanimir Stanislaw Warwas StaziG Stephanv Stephanvermeulen Super-Sophie Svein Elias Szucs Tamas Tamara Ratz Tcchang0825 Tevity Thibault Magnien Thomas Harold Watson Thomas van der Walt Thorben Tommasorossotti Tony0001 Travel Addicts Truls Brekke VLabhard Van Hung Vanessa Buechler Veelineen Vencisak Vernon Prieto WILLIAM RICH Wait About Walter Wojciech Fedoruk Yamen Yi Han Goh Zos M Александар Стојиљковић
WHS 1997-2024