Lisbon, Portugal is a city of hills. (It is sometimes called the “City of Seven Hills.”) Deepening upon which direction you go, even short walks can involve some significant climbs. There’s a reason for the Elevador de Santa Justa, the famous elevator structure, and for cable cars or funiculars. A positive result of all of this climbing is that there are some spectacular views.
Continue reading Alfama, Tagus River View
I love little off-kilter scenes like this one. In the center are two tile illustrations of the fado music tradition of Portugal. (The tiles were seen in an earlier post on this website.) They are aligned to perfect verticals and horizontals. But everything else tilts — the bench on the cobbled sidewalk, the pipe that frames the image, the wiring attached to the walls. A door at the left, barely intruding into the frame, is the only other thing that lines up.
Continue reading Bench, Wall With Fado Tiles
I found these beautiful little tiles on a wall along a street in the Alfama neighborhood of Lisbon. The truth of the matter is that I made a photograph of the wall, only barely aware of the tiles, and then took a closer look at them while working on the larger image in post. They appear to have been created by the same artist/craftsperson, judging by the signature, and I think they are relatively contemporary.
Continue reading Fado Tiles, Lisbon
Certain architectural features seem to characterize various cities. In Europe, from what I’ve seen, these include the materials available locally for construction, the types of roofs, and the color scheme. This view of the Alfama neighborhood of Lisbon is a case in point — with mostly white-walled buildings and red-tiled roofs.
Continue reading Alfama Rooftops