Spain, Andorra & Portugal (by EMArg)

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Sintra: Pena Palace











City: Sintra
Region: Lisbon
Set: Pena Palace




The Pena Palace is a Romanticist castle on the Portuguese Riviera. The castle stands on the top of a hill in the Sintra Mountains above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon and much of its metropolitan area. For many decades the ruins of an old monastery who standed there remained untouched. In 1838, as King consort Ferdinand II, he decided to acquire the old monastery, all of the surrounding lands, the nearby Castle of the Moors and a few other estates in the area. King Ferdinand then set out to transform the remains of the monastery into a palace that would serve as a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family. The commission for the Romantic style rebuilding was given to Lieutenant-General and mining engineer Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege. Eschwege, a German amateur architect, was much traveled and likely had knowledge of several castles along the Rhine river. The construction took place between 1842 and 1854, although it was almost completed in 1847: King Ferdinand and Queen Maria II intervened decisively on matters of decoration and symbolism. Among others, the King suggested vault arches, Medieval and Islamic elements be included, and he also designed an ornate window for the main façade (inspired by the chapter house window of the Convent of the Order of Christ in Tomar). After the death of Ferdinand the palace passed into the possession of his second wife Elisa Hensler, Countess of Edla. The latter then sold the palace to King Luís, who wanted to retrieve it for the royal family, and thereafter the palace was frequently used by the family. In 1889 it was purchased by the Portuguese State, and after the Republican Revolution of 1910 it was classified as a national monument and transformed into a museum. The last queen of Portugal, Queen Amélia, spent her last night at the palace before leaving the country in exile. The palace quickly drew visitors and became one of Portugal's most visited monuments. Over time the colors of the red and yellow façades faded, and for many years the palace was visually identified as being entirely gray. By the end of the 20th century the palace was repainted and the original colors restored.

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Lisbon: Parque das Nações











City: Sintra
Region: Lisbon
Set: Parque das Nações




The Parque das Nações was created in 2012 from parts of the parishes Santa Maria dos Olivais (Lisbon), Sacavém and Moscavide. Taking advantage of its geographical position, Parque das Nações also has a brand new marina, Marina Parque das Nações featuring 600 berths and modern infrastructures, a river pier for cruises or historical vessels and an exclusive pontoon prepared to receive nautical and on land events, and a spot for bird watching as it is sited in the Tagus Estuary, one of the largest and most diverse estuaries of Europe. At the time of the census carried out in 2011, an estimated 21,000 people currently live in the Parque das Nações, which was shared between the Lisbon and Loures municipalities until November 2012. Following a request by local citizens for the municipality of Lisbon to annex the one belonging to Loures, thereby integrating the entire area within the Lisbon municipality, the area is now inside Lisbon and it is the city's most northeastern parish.

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Lisbon: Puente 25 de Abril











City: Lisboa
Region: Lisbon
Set: Puente 25 de Abril




The 25 de Abril Bridge is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon to the municipality of Almada on the south bank of the Tagus river. It was inaugurated on August 6, 1966. It is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, US, because they are both suspension bridges of similar color. It was built by the American Bridge Company which constructed the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, but not the Golden Gate. With a total length of 2,277 metres (7,470 ft), it is the 38th largest suspension bridge in the world. The upper deck carries six car lanes, while the lower deck carries a double track railway electrified at 25 kV AC; the train platform was added in 1999. From 1966–1974, the bridge was named Salazar Bridge (Ponte Salazar) in honor of Portuguese Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar. After the Carnation Revolution which overthrew the remnants of Salazar's dictatorship, the bridge was renamed for April 25, the date of the revolution. It is also sometimes called the Tagus River Bridge or in Portuguese Ponte sobre o Tejo ("bridge over the Tagus").

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And the last one of the thread for now: the Take Off from Lisbon. Next week: a new thread of Bariloche and other cities of the Patagonia Argentina