Culture

Historic Center of Porto celebrated in the streets and city memory

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Yesterday, March 28th , was National day of Historic centers (DNHC), but the party in Porto was thrown in advance. Last Saturday, there were 10 hours of activities, to celebrate a Historic Center classified as World Heritage by UNESCO, since 1996.

The program included guided visits, exhibitions, workshops and music and dance shows. Until 7 pm, museums, monuments, churches, and other institutions were, also open to the public, in initiatives promoted by more than 20 entities.

The City Museum presented a set of free outdoor guided tours. Participants were able to learn about the history of some streets and their buildings, the connections to the river, the Douro region, and the wine. There was also a pedestrian route by the riverside area to appreciate it’s art, as well as medieval Porto, between the higher area of Batalha and the Douro River.

The younger audience always deserves a special attention, with more than 60 activities designed for families. Workshops, guided visits and even a Pedi paper to discover and explore the enigmas of the memory of Santo António Hospital and Joaquim Urbano Hospital.

Music and dancing are essential at any party, and they were no exception here. The Palácio das Artes, in São Domingos sqaure, hosted several dance shows, carried out by six dance schools in the city. At the Portuguese Photography Centre (Centro Português de Fotografia), the show "Piano delle Arti" brought together Portuguese and Italian students on stage, in a presentation where music and dance were hand in hand.

At Terreiro da Sé, the Portuguese Symphonic Band (Banda Sinfónica Portuguesa) performed a concert, specially designed for the National Day of Historic Centres.

On the occasion of the celebration, it was also possible to look to the future with the new (Management and Sustainability Plan for the Historic Center) Plano de Gestão e Sustentabilidade do Centro Histórico , developed by the municipal company Porto Vivo, SRU, and was one of the highlights of the day’s schedule. Porto Vivo sought to show visitors not only the strategic lines of action of the new plan, but also a brief exhibition, with images and documents, that depict the evolution of the Historic Centre of Porto, an exhibition that was on display at Palácio das Artes.