Calçada portuguesa. If you come to Lisbon, don't forget to look down. Unlike what happens almost everywhere else in the rest of the world, in Lisbon (and all other main cities in Portugal) the streets you walk on are actual pieces of art. "Calçada Portuguesa" is the name of these granite and limestone stones manually placed on the ground, one by one, in the old, traditional fashion. You can only see this kind of Calçada in Portugal and in its ex-colonies (Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, etc). Some areas, specially in the historical center of Lisbon, have some Calçadas with some beautiful, elaborated patterns and designs so, once again, don't forget to look down. This art is having trouble surviving as it is time-consuming and, therefore, expensive and there are also less and less qualified people to do the actual work.
Very interesting info on these special artistic patterns. In this photo the patterns make the man look like he´s walking on waves that are going up and down - funny illusion. Best wishes Annemette
Very well seen and captured, Fer! I like the way the man's shadow interacts with the design, as well as the pigeons that appear to be following him. An interesting "about", too! Dave.
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{K:2218} 4/4/2007
