Ponte Vasco da Gama, Lisbon. One of the two Portuguese alpha-level global cities (alongside Porto), Lisbon is located in the Tagus River estuary and is Europe’s westernmost capital city, the only one on the Atlantic coast. One of the oldest cities in the world and the second-oldest European capital (after Athens), Lisbon predates other modern continental capitals by centuries. It has been inhabited since the Neolithic period when pre-Celtic tribes marked the area with megaliths, dolmens and menhirs. Archaeological findings suggest the existence of a Phoenician trading post right in the downtown of the present city since 1200 BC. As the legend has it, the place was named for the mythical Ulysses who is said to have founded the city when he sailed to the ends of the known world. Following the defeat of Hannibal Barca in 202 BC, the Iberian Peninsula was exposed to the Roman army. Lisbon was integrated into the Empire as part of the province of Lusitania. The city prospered under the Roman rule, with a fortress, a great theater, a large forum, baths and numerous temples built. After the disintegration of the Roman Empire, Lisbon waves of barbarian tribes rolled through the area. Sarmatians, Alans, Vandals and Suebi came and went in quick succession until Lisbon was made part of the Germanic Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo. The Visigoths lasted until 711 when the Muslim forces advancing from North Africa drove them away. The diverse population received the right to preserve their cultural lifestyles while Islam was the official religion practiced by Arabs and Berbers. The Muslim influence is still felt in the city, especially in the Alfama district. In 1147, the city with a 150,000-strong population was reconquered by Afonso I of Portugal. Already in 1255, Lisbon became the capital of Portugal due to its central location and excellent harbor. Lisbon became an important international city by the late Middle Ages, starting the Age of the Discoveries in 1415 with a systematic search for wealth overseas, first in North Africa, then for a new way of reaching India by sea, and Lisbon slowly became the capital of an empire stretching from the shores of China, India, Africa and later mainland Brazil. The city suffered a major blow in 1755 when a devastating earthquake destroyed 85 per cent of the buildings and killed tens of thousands of residents. King Joseph I and the royal family survived having left the city just hours before the catastrophe. However, the king developed a fear of living within walls and moved to a tented camp in Ajuda with his wife, Mariana Victoria of Spain, and the court. The city was rebuilt to a new plan put forward by the Marquis of Pombal and based on the principles of the modern urban design. Pombaline buildings were the first seismically protected structures in Europe although many of them were damaged by the 1988 fire. The city kept expanding with the new avenues eventually connecting dispersed old communities scattered around Lisbon for centuries, like Campo Grande, Benfica, Lumiar, Carnide and Olivais, while on the other hand expanded to the Belem area. The Cascais district looks upon the Atlantic Ocean near Cabo de Roca, the westernmost point of the continental Europe. The northeastern part of the city was redeveloped for the World Expo, with the Parque das Nações district given a futuristic look [May 4, 2019].
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