A 16th c. Rhino in Lisbon

[mspath]

This BBC reel, The Surprising Story of a 16th Century Rhino Called Ganda, is a delightful video reportage of the intricate history of paving tiles and the men who pave in Lisbon. Much is in Portuguese with English subtitles and great scenes of Lisbon. Do watch it!

 

[celticone]

This BBC reel, The Surprising Story of a 16th Century Rhino Called Ganda, is a delightful video reportage of the intricate history of paving tiles and the men who pave in Lisbon. Much is in Portuguese with English subtitles and great scenes of Lisbon. Do watch it!

Thank you for posting this link. I'm in Scotland and hadn't heard of Reel.

I'm going to walk the Rota Vicentina in March so am now obsessed with all things Portuguese.

Can I access the BBC Reel videos when not in UK e.g. in Portugal? I think I cannot access BBC Sounds when in Spain or Portugal.

Thanks again. I enjoy all your posts.
Ena in Scotland

 

[mspath]

Thank you for posting this link. I'm in Scotland and hadn't heard of Reel.

I'm going to walk the Rota Vicentina in March so am now obsessed with all things Portuguese.

Can I access the BBC Reel videos when not in UK e.g. in Portugal? I think I cannot access BBC Sounds when in Spain or Portugal.

Thanks again. I enjoy all your posts.
Ena in Scotland

Ena,
Thanks for your comment. Here in rural France I get BBC Reel with no problem. Hope that you will also get it in Portugal/Spain.

 

[Theatregal]

Wonderful to watch this @mspath . Thank you! I once watched a team of Calceteiros working in Porto - it's great to hear them talk about their profession in this video. Remains of cobbled streets can still be found in Vancouver and some areas continue to be maintained. Though not as intricate in pattern as those in Portugal, they're still beautiful and the video gives me a better appreciation for those who maintain them!

 

[jayree]

This BBC reel, The Surprising Story of a 16th Century Rhino Called Ganda, is a delightful video reportage of the intricate history of paving tiles and the men who pave in Lisbon. Much is in Portuguese with English subtitles and great scenes of Lisbon. Do watch it!

Outstanding. Thanks for posting.

 

[peregrina2000]

So interesting! I had never heard the story of Ganda, but I have seen many of the calceteiros at work. Good for Brazil for trying to keep this tradition alive, too! Such artisans, working for low pay. We know what market forces will do to this tradition, so I hope that Lisbon and other public entities figure out a way to preserve it. I took a look at the website for the Escola de Calceteiros and it is municipally owned.

I remember walking on the Geira last year, in a rural area, and all at once I heard the familiar clink clink clink. I knew what it was before I saw it, and I really enjoyed getting a little lesson from one of the men working. He wasn’t doing anything decorative, just repairing a road, but it was such fun to watch and hear him describe it. I learned the word for those little rocks — paralelos.

These guys explained to me that It’s a much more environmentally responsible way to make roads and sidewalks — better drainage because of less impervious surface. Also, ripping up the road to get underneath for some pipes will most always allow them to reuse the the same rocks. I don’t think the environmental aspects were rationales for instituting the method, but may be reasons for preserving it.

Thanks so much for this link, mspath, and for all the great information you keep sending our way!

 

[celticone]

Ena,
Thanks for your comment. Here in rural France I get BBC Reel with no problem. Hope that you will also get it in Portugal/Spain.

Hello again. I've had another look at BBC Reel. There are other interesting videos on there too, including something about Portugal's Stonehenge.

Because I only speak English I feel the need to load up with a stash of english language podcasts and audio books before i go to Spain/Portugal. This is in case I have a mishap and can't walk.

Keep well
Ena

 

[palmah]

This BBC reel, The Surprising Story of a 16th Century Rhino Called Ganda, is a delightful video reportage of the intricate history of paving tiles and the men who pave in Lisbon. Much is in Portuguese with English subtitles and great scenes of Lisbon. Do watch it!

Thanks for posting! Very interesting and an "ear opener" for folks who haven't heard Portuguese spoken!

 

[lindam]

Can I access the BBC Reel videos when not in UK e.g. in Portugal? I think I cannot access BBC Sounds when in Spain or Portugal.

To answer your question, I have just watched the link shared by @mspath from my home in the Azores, Portugal. No issues with access.

 

[lindam]

This BBC reel, The Surprising Story of a 16th Century Rhino Called Ganda, is a delightful video reportage of the intricate history of paving tiles and the men who pave in Lisbon. Much is in Portuguese with English subtitles and great scenes of Lisbon. Do watch it!

Thank you for sharing this interesting bit of Portuguese history. It is always so pleasing to the eye to walk along the carefully created tiled pavements created by Portuguese artisans. Sadly, where I live on one of the Portuguese islands of the Azores, we have begun to lose these treasured landmarks. The first instance was following hurricane Lorenzo in 2019 when a damaged stretch of tiled sidewalk was replaced by standard concrete slabs. Now, despite tremendous public opposition, much of the emblematic tiled road and sidewalk along the waterfront by the island's harbour will be lost following a current "rejuvenation" project. I am unsure of the rationale for this change (e.g., associated costs to replace the tiles, lack of skilled workers with knowledge of this craft or a general lack of appreciation of the aesthetic pleasure derived from such a fine artform).

 

[jungleboy]

Thank you for sharing, it's a nice video!

A couple of things:

- The video showed a statue of two calceteiros. If anyone would like to see this while in Lisbon, it's in the southwest corner of the Praça dos Restauradores, just north of Rossio. It was previously in a different location on the other side of the Baixa so some older sources may give a location for the statue that is no longer correct.

- Here are my notes about calçada portuguesa from Barry Hatton's book Queen of the Sea:

• Calçada portuguesa is made of limestone and basalt cubes. It was inspired by Roman paving and invented in the 1840s by a military engineer.
• Rossio was paved with the calçada portuguesa that is there today in 1848. The pattern, called Mar Largo, took nearly a year to complete.
• Mayor António Cosa in 2014 on calçada portuguesa: ‘Let’s be honest, it’s nice to look at but it’s terrible to walk on. It’s slippery, it’s uncomfortable.’
• A council determined it would phase out calçada portuguesa outside tourist areas of Lisbon.

- Here is a gift link to a New York Times article about Lisbon pavements that I think has been shared previously here but is worth posting again: In Lisbon, a Carpet of Stone Beneath Their Feet.

Thanks for posting! Very interesting and an "ear opener" for folks who haven't heard Portuguese spoken!

Yes, spoken European Portuguese is difficult to understand. People often say it sounds like Russian, and in any case it's quite far removed from the more open, rhythmical sounds of Brazilian Portuguese. For example, note the way the Portuguese speakers pronounce 'calceteiros' in the video (especially compared with the British narrator).