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Built by the Jesuits in 1577 in a Baroque-Jesuit mannerist style, financed by donations from the faithful, as well as by Friar Luís Álvaro de Távora, Commander of Leça do Balio, of the Order of Malta, whose coat of arms atop the main facade, the Church and the São Lourenço Convent were erected with strong opposition from the city council and the population. However, the followers of Santo Inácio de Loyola ended up managing to found the highly sought after school with free classes, which quickly achieved a notable success. The population's opposition was not directed at the Jesuits, but at the college they intended to institute due to the privileges that citizens had that prevented the nobles and nobles from staying within the city for a period of more than three days. Thus, the school that was to be built would call children noble and noblemen who would necessarily have to reside in the city, but through some artifices of the religious the opposition of the bourgeois was overcome. With the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1759, by order of the Marquis of Pombal, the church was donated to the University of Coimbra until its purchase by the Barefoot Friars of Santo Agostinho who stayed there from 1780 to 1832. These friars came from Spain in 1663, installing it was initially in Lisbon, on the site of Grilo, where they quickly gained the sympathy of the village, earning the name "friars-grilos", thus giving the name to the church where they were in Porto.

Aerial Views over Porto

In the heart of the historic center, on Rua das Flores, emerged one of the most important institutions in the city of Porto; the Confraternity of Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia founded in March 1499, following the recommendation and appeal of King D. Manuel I to the most important good man in the city. After several decades of existence, the confraternity was installed in the cloister of the Cathedral, and in 1550 on the 24th of June, Rua de Santa Catarina das Flores, opened in 1521, was permanently installed on the new street of the city. dispatch and a Renaissance style church, whose work will continue until 1590. The influence of the noble D.Lopo de Almeida, friend of Philip I and defender of the union of the two dynasties, was important.

The history of Livraria Lello e Irmão goes back to 1869, the year when Ernesto Chardron's International Bookstore was founded in Rua dos Clérigos. After Chardron's unexpected death at the age of 45, the publishing house was sold to Lugan & Genelioux Sucessores. In 1894 Mathieux Lugan sold Livraria Chardron to José Pinto de Sousa Lello, who then owned a bookstore on Rua do Almada. Associated with his brother, António Lello, they keep Livraria Chardron, under the name José Pinto de Sousa Lello & Irmão, until 1919, the year in which the name of the company changes to Lello & Irmão Lda. The current neo-Gothic style building , and designed by Engº Xavier Esteves (Ilhavo 1864-1944) was inaugurated in 1906, with the presence on the opening day of, among others, Guerra Junqueiro, José Leite de Vasconcelos and Afonso Costa. In 2008, the English newspaper The Guardian considered it the third most beautiful bookstore in the world. In 2011 Lonely Planet publisher considered it the third best bookstore in the world, and CNN in 2014 considered it the most beautiful bookstore in the world

Aerial views over Porto

Casa da Música is the first building built in Portugal dedicated exclusively to public presentations of different types of music, as well as spaces for rehearsing orchestras and other resident and visiting groups. Its construction is linked to the candidacy of Porto as European Capital of Culture in 1997, and its construction was announced in 1998. The project tender process was too short, which reduced the participation of 7 to 3 architects. In July 1999, Rem Koolhaas' project was accepted, and in December the project was delivered. In April 2005 the inaugural concert takes place. This building does not leave anyone indifferent, all the solutions used here are out of the ordinary, and its architecture is already an experience in itself, being an adventure for our senses to walk through the various interior spaces, and also observe them from the outside. I consider your visit mandatory.

Romanic church built on a pre-Romanic temple. Its initial construction is due to Count D. Henrique de Borgonha, it is therefore prior to the Kingdom of Portugal. It is an important example of the Romanesque style in Portugal, although difficult to decode, due to the various interventions throughout its life. This Church was built on a pre-Romanic temple from the 8th or 9th century. In 1100 the church and convent are offered by donation from the Burgundian Count D. Henry to the Benedictine Priory of La Charité-sur-Loire, of the order of Cluny. The Romanesque building was started, gaining greater prominence, in the mid-century. XII, with the support of King D. Afonso Henriques and under the tutelage of French monks. This is an appreciable example of the Romanesque style of our country, of robust construction, with three naves, a pseudo-transept and an interesting collection of sculptural motifs in the arches, portals and capitals. The eardrum has a representation of Christ in Majesty.

The village of Vila do Conde dates back to 953 the first documentary reference to the so-called committee villa, related to the sale of land today called Monte do Mosteiro to the Guimarães Monastery, and where the first inhabitants are believed to have settled. There was a count who lived in Azurara, "with the countess, his wife, of whom he had no children." Returning, once, from a long pilgrimage, sick and sensing death, the count vowed to let go of a white dove and , in the place where it landed, found a convent and a village to which it would give its name. The dove flew and landed in Alto de S.João, where the Count ordered the monastery to be built and the settlement around it, the story concludes. For a long time, the Count of this village was D. Mendes Pais Bofinho. In 953, the town appears under the name of Villa de Comite and Rofinho. Other historians claim that Count Belote was presor and grantee of Vila-Condense lands and that the origin of the toponym Villa de Comite comes from this count

Conimbriga, is an old settlement existing since the Copper Age (3300 to 1200 BC), which was an important center during the Roman Empire (10,000 and 15,000 inhabitants) and which after the barbarian invasions, remained inhabited until the 6th century, when Episcopal see went from Conimbriga to Coimbra. Conimbriga is seventeen kilometers south of Coimbra, and was next to the road that came from Sellium (Tomar) to Aeminum (Coimbra). Despite its condition of natural defense, this city has a point of vulnerability that is to depend on its water supply from an aqueduct with 3 km. That could be the main reason for their abandonment, since their survival would be at risk in the event of siege in the middle ages. Part of Conimbriga (part of the Condeixa-a-Velha houses) survived thanks to the existence of a small fountain located there.

A city of narrow streets, courtyards, stairs and medieval arches, Coimbra was the birthplace of six kings from Portugal and the First Dynasty, as well as the first University of the Country and one of the oldest in Europe. In the 12th century, Coimbra already had an urban structure, divided between the upper city, called Alta or Almedina, where aristocrats, clerics and, later, students lived, and Baixa, of commerce, artisans and neighborhoods riverside. Since the middle of the 16th century, the city's history has revolved around the history of the University of Coimbra, and it was only in the 19th century that the city began to expand beyond its walled hull, which even disappeared with the reforms carried out by the Marquis of Pombal at the end of the 18th century. These reforms will have a major impact, especially in the upper part of the city, where structures such as the Botanical Garden and some colleges of the University are created.

Stereoscopic panoramas taken in the outdoor exhibition area of the Venice Biennale, June 2017

The University is located on the highest hill in the city, overlooking the Mondego. Founded by King D. Dinis in collaboration with the prior of Santa Cruz, the abbot of Alcobaça and other ecclesiastics, it first established itself in Lisbon under the name "General Study". On August 13, 1290, it was sanctioned by the bull of Pope Nicholas IV. She was transferred to Coimbra in 1308 and here the monarch D. Dinis grants him the academic "forum". D. Afonso IV would transfer it back to Lisbon, from where he would return in 1354. This continuous shuttle and D. Fernando would move it back to Lisbon until D. João III in 1537a definitively installed it in Coimbra. Here, he settled in the old medieval palace that, during the reigns of D. Manuel I and D. João III, underwent major renovations in order to become more comfortable and suitable for his new functions. It was D. João III who offered the Alcáçova Palace to teach some subjects there, however, later, all university classes were transferred to that location. Later, the buildings became the property of the University (1597), as part of the purchase that the institution made to the Spanish monarch D. Filipe III (II of Portugal), who then reigned in Portugal.

The Monastery of Santa Cruz de Coimbra was founded in 1131 by Arcediago D. Telo, with the protection of D. Afonso Henriques, The Monastery of Santa Cruz follows the rule of the Canons Ruling Saint Augustine. The Romanesque building was located outside the city walls, and its design would be a church with a façade tower, with defensive skills. The work was developed between 1132-1223. Here, an educational institution of the best in Portugal was developed, thanks to its vast library, supported by its active “scriptorium” (a place where monks who copied documents and created books) worked. It was here that Fernando Martins de Bulhões (Santo António) studied. In the reign of D. Manuel, the monastery is reformed. Bishop D. Vaz Vaz Gavião who would have accompanied D. Manuel to Santiago de Compostela in 1502 is named prior to the monastery, and begins the renovation campaign. Jacques Boytac who works in Portugal (Jerónimos, Torre de Belém, Convento de Jesus de Setúbal) since 1492 is the master, and organizes the new church with a single nave of vertical volume that connects with the side chapels. Between 1518-22 the Manueline cloister is finished, now under the orders of the master Marcos Pires, Boytac is "Master of the Works of the Kingdom" and leaves for Arzila where he tries to redo the defenses of that North African stronghold. D. Manuel intends to exalt the first Kings of Portugal, changing the tombs of the old cloister, to the chancel, in two tombs of the highest quality, designed by Nicolau Chanterene and Diogo de Castilho, and sculpted by the same team that worked on the Jerónimos portals. , is also the work of the same team of artists. The beauty of this facade lies in the solution of using the clear tone of the Stone of Ançã for the axial Portal, highlighting it and highlighting it in contrast to the yellow tone of the limestone facade of the area of Bordalo.

The Old Cathedral of Coimbra, built in the 12th century (1140-1184), during the reign of D. Afonso Henriques and due to D. Miguel Salomão, bishop of Coimbra. It was built on top of another temple. In this place it existed, at least since the century. IX, another temple with invocation to Mariae Virginis. Definitely conquered by Muslims, on July 9, 1064 through Fernando Magno (King of Castile and Leon) and Sizenando Davides, a natural Mozarab from the Tentúgal region, and his first Governor. The temple dedicated to Santa Maria de Coimbra was destroyed in 1117 due to a Muslim attack. Preserving the foundational stone of the previous construction that started to appear in the central nave of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra. Its construction must be understood within a broader strategy of affirming national autonomy and independence. Coimbra, the royal city par excellence in the 12th century, was thus endowed with a very dignified cathedral, which honored not only the city but also the first generation of Portuguese people who were then asserting themselves.