I meant to write this for a long time, but I kept putting it off, cause I’m lazy. It’s almost a year now, and I think it’s about time.
6 kids in an apartment
When I was an exchange student, I had the lucky experience of living with two and a half portuguese guys (one didn’t technically live with us, but ended up spending most of the time at our place) and two italian guys.
As you do, we often ended up talking of Rome and Lisbon.
“Ah, the seven hills city” they would say, referring to Lisbon. Cause, yeah, apparently Lisbon does have seven hills, exactly like Rome.
“dude, of course we know baccalà, it’s traditional” we would tell them.
“Oh man, I hate clubs where you have to stand in the line and then they don’t let you in cause you are not with some girls, or you don’t have the right clothes and shoes” we would both say, and “I’m so happy I don’t get stuck in traffic going to the University, traffic is crazy in my city“, and so on, and so forth.
I kinda had a mental image of a city which, while very different, felt familiar. Still, it took me almost 20 years to finally visit it.
Old cities and new cities
In my mind there is a clear distinction between (european) cities which hit their zenith before or after 1492, the year Columbus got to the Americas, Lorenzo de’ Medici died, and we decided the middle ages had come to an end.
Rome, Istanbul, Athens, Florence, Venice… these cities were great when the mediterranean was the important part of the world, and they seem to be share some undefinable traits. Perhaps ruins and old monuments. Maybe the narrow streets. Maybe just the layers of dust over past greatness.
On the other hand, there’s cities which became rich and powerful once european imperialism started to eat the world, and the cities were rebuilt and modernized with the fruits of that success. Vienna, Paris, London, Madrid. Wide roads, neoclassical buildings, equestrian monuments to kings with exotic plants.
(I am aware Paris was important in the middle ages, London is a roman town, a lot of stuff in Rome is from the baroque era etc.. but this does not change how I feel about things).
My theory is that countries that had a ton of money in the 1700 and 1800 had more chances to tear down old stuff and rebuild, while those that had been sunsetting just gave up.
Lisbon and Lisbon and Lisbon
So in Lisbon, I had the feeling of a new city.
Massive large roads, check. Large square with bronze dude on top of a marble monument, check. Bronze dude on top of a corinthian-style marble column, check. Neoclassical arch with allegories and notables, check.
Turns out Lisbon got a pretty big chance to rebuild in 1755, when the city got destroyed by an earthquake. They also rebuilt using state of the art anti-seismic designs.
But Lisbon is an interesting city, because part of it is lowlands, and part of it goes up on the hills. And you don’t get many large straight roads on hills.
The part of the city that had grown on the hills outside of the old town survived the earthquake, and while it’s been adapted over the centuries, it keeps its own character, which seems pretty different from the rest. Buildings a bit more run down. Streets a bit more rundown. Houses are smaller. A ton of stairs. Graffiti and street art. Cobblestones. Stairs. I liked this part a bit more perhaps.
But the other cool thing that Lisbon has, that sets it apart from most European capitals, is that it’s also a city married to the Sea (note: Istanbul and Athens. Or, well, at list flirting with it. So when you go down to the water, you find yet another kind of city. A city of low buildings, waterfront promenades, and monuments to sailors.
And it is odd to find out that water is not the Atlantic Ocean, but the Tejo river, the Ocean is just a bit further out. The river is weird. I remember arguing with my portuguese flatmates that it was impossible they built a seventeen kilometers long bridge on it. No river is 17km wide. You guys must have built it sideways instead of across.
Well, the Tejo is, when it goes to the estuary. It’s a weird river, and it has an inverted delta: it’s smaller at the point it goes into the ocean, and widens up as you go upstream. Lisbon grew up on both sides of the river, and so they had to put a bridge seventeen kilometers long to cross it. And then you follow the river, and you end up in the ocean, and go explore the world.
A kind of sadness
I was lucky to wait almost a year to write this, and coincidence blessed me with a new Asterix story (I love Asterix!): Asterix in Lusitania. It’s set in Portugal, and the authors made fun of the fact that they have a sad happy music, Fado.
Fado is a sentimental music, often focused on unhappy life, and resignation (the word “fado” is ethimologically linked to “fate” or “death”). But it’s not just sad music, I think. It’s kind of sad, but not sad.
Among the things you should do in Lisbon (eat fish, eat cakes, take the small tram up to hill, go to the museum of azulejos) you should include a Fado concert.
I had the chance to attend one, and it was pretty pleasant, even if my understanding of the lyrics was pretty limited. But there’s a ton of them on the internet, you can find them easily.
I can’t say if Lisboans are happy and sad like that. I don’t know the city enough, and my friends seemed more happy then sad, cause we were young and having a nice time, so I don’t have anecdata either.
But I thin a city that survived an earthquake and kept both old parts, rebuilt parts, and completely modern parts, is probably a bit happy and sad.
Closing words
I think I don’t have many words to say, I loved Lisbon and would love to go back. The city has its own issues with overtourism and is overrun with digital nomads, so maybe visit off-season as I did, and try to be nice to people.
But I mean, that is valid for every city everywhere.
I’ll leave you with words from a portuguese song which is not fado, but I feel represents the city quite well. Here’s a video. Coincidentally, I saw this dude perform, and then found his performance online even tho I didn’t know his name, and he’s just doing a cover. The transmedial world is a very small place.
Anyway, this is the refrain
Basil and moonlight
this is Lisbon
the Fado that sobs
this is Lisbon
the Tejo that murmurs
this is Lisbon
a narrow little street
an old little house
this is Lisbon!