Porto Historic centre is celebrated in the city with a full agenda, between 25th and 31st March

Porto City Hall celebrates its Historic Centre from 25th to 31st March, with an agenda that includes initiatives developed in collaboration with different social agents. The highlight is the presentation of the Management and Sustainability Plan for Porto Historic Centre.

The motto is “Gostava que estivesses aqui!... no Porto Património Mundial" [“I wish you were here!...in Porto World Heritage”, free translation], organised by Porto Vivo, SRU Municipal Company. The kick-off is set for 25h March, with the opening of the exhibition "lnterweaving", signed by Patrícia Brito, an emergent artist from Porto artistic scene that shows an innovative side to the textile traditional legacy.

This installation represents “the awareness of the collective and individual role citizens play in the common space that is the city, where the combining and the mixture of different fabrics and the expression of different graphic and symbolic elements, metaphorically evoke collective memories”, the artist explains.

The piece will be exhibited in the front of the building of the Municipal Company Porto Vivo, SRU, located at Mouzinho da Silveira Street, alongside a video by André Tentúgal, which represents the partnership that was established among the five World Heritage cities - Porto, Bordeaux, Florence, Edinburgh and Santiago de Compostela - that are part of the AtlaS.WH project.

On 25th March, the initiative "Da Sé à Ribeira", [“From Sé to Ribeira”, free translation] launches a 360º virtual guided tour through Porto Historic Centre. The entire community is invited to participated and (re)discover the city.

On 28th March, there is the launch of the book “Gostaria que estivesses aqui!" [“I wish you were here””, free translation], edited by the Museu da Cidade. This initiative was jointly promoted by several educational establishments in Porto, mirroring a synergy between teachers, families and students, during the 2019/20 school year.

The week concludes with the webinar themed "Centro Histórico do Porto, Ponte Luiz I e Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar", which includes the presentation of the Management and Sustainability Plano of Porto Historic Centre, namely the result of the pool to the community, jointly performed by Porto City Hall and by Porto Vivo, SRU.

The webinar "Gostaria que estivesses aqui... a pensar no Centro Histórico do Porto" is scheduled for 31st March, at 9.30 am. Participation is free, but registration is mandatory.

Lecturers include, among many other, councillors Pedro Baganha and Ricardo Valente, SRU Administrator Raquel Maia, architect Rui Loza, who is in charge of the Management and Sustainability Plan of Porto Historic Centre.

The drafting of the plan, which will lead to the implementation of a management and participatory monitoring model, was based in a joint development by artists from Porto, figures from the academic community, public and private institutions, visitors and residents. It should be highlighted that the cities that are part of the AtlaS.WH, shared knowledge and data regarding common challenges.

AtlaS.WH project is financed by the Interreg Espaço Atlântico programme, through the European Fund for Regional Development.