!!!Lisbon
by Sergey Shandin and Stas Sedov,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\
22 May 2015
with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]
The capital of Portugal has a rich history spanning more than twenty
centuries; it is something a rare city can boast of. Lisbon lies on the
western bank of the Tagus River, just near the place where the river
flows into the Atlantic Ocean creating a deep natural harbour. It is an
attractive lot that Romans, Visigoths, warriors of Arab caliphate,
French soldiers led by Napoleon Bonaparte and other great armies were
fighting for. The period of peacetime began only after the Second World
War.
[{Image src='01_Praca do Comercio (Commerce Square).jpg' caption='Praca do Comércio (Commerce Square)' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='655'}]
One more important fact about the location of the city is its position
regarding the areas of seismic activity. It is the place where the
Eurasian and African tectonic plates approach to each other,
consequently resulting in earthquakes. And that was in Lisbon, where one
of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of mankind
occurred. The earthquake with a magnitude 9 occurred on 1 November 1755
killing about one quarter of the Lisbon's population (100 000 people in
6 minutes). Subsequent fires and tsunami almost completely destroyed the
city. Anyway, the fact that this earthquake caused the birth of modern
seismology can be a poor consolation.
[{Image src='02_Vasco da Gama Bridge, the longest in Europe.jpg' caption='Vasco da Gama Bridge, the longest in Europe' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='900'}]
At that time Portugal was a rather wealthy colonial state, so the major
part of the capital was rebuilt in a very short period of time — several
months. As a result Lisbon became a unique European capital having no
random town planning: the whole historical center of the city was built
according to a common plan.
[{Image src='03_Lisbon, Portugal.jpg' caption='Lisbon, Portugal' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='655'}]
New quarters of the city, having begun their life from scratch, were the
first ones to be seismically tested. According to the evidence of that
time, a great number of soldiers were attracted to take part in these
tests: they were to march in unison around the model of a building
creating a sort of seismic activity.
However, the influence and economy of Portugal quickly fell into decay
and the reconstruction of the city ceased. The witnesses of the
beginning of the 19th century could describe dilapidated buildings all
around the city.
One can wonder that several monuments of the past built in the Manueline
style (Portuguese Renaissance) had survived the earthquake. One of them
is Belém Tower built in 1515-1521 to celebrate the Portuguese
discovering of the sea route to India. The other one is the Jerónimos
Monastery where the tombs of the famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da
Gama and other important historians are situated. Both of the monuments
are classified UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The most ancient building of Lisbon is the Castle of São Jorge (Castelo
de São Jorge), but nevertheless, one can behold it in its restored form.
The first fortified construction was built on a hill in around 48 BC,
and then it was repeatedly enlarged and strengthened. But the 1755
earthquake had ruined a great part of the building. During the
subsequent centuries the castle had been significantly reconstructed and
in 1910 it was declared the monument of national importance.
[{Image src='04_Aguas Livres Aqueduct.jpg' caption='Aguas Livres Aqueduct' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='655'}]
The Águas Livres Aqueduct is the most famous technical construction of
Lisbon and the architectural landmark of the city. The chain of stone
arches built in the beginning of the 18th century was a solution to the
problem of pure water supply; and it works for the same purpose even
nowadays. And it is one more construction which has survived the natural
disaster of the year 1755.
Majestic castles and cathedrals which appeared after the earthquake (the
Estrela Basilica that can be noticed almost from any point in the city,
the Mafra National Palace which is the biggest palace in Portugal and
other monuments) make Lisbon one of the most picturesque cities of
Europe. You will have no doubt as soon as you take a virtual walk round
there with the help of our panoramas.
And now Stanislav Sedov will share his own impressions about his trip to
Portugal.
Taking a sip of hot chocolate in a cafe situated on the roof of the Pena
Palace and enjoying the sight of the clouds flying by, I sank into the
memories of the events taken place during my trip to Portugal. Some of
them were advantageous, some not that lucky. The Pena Palace was the
place where we started taking photos for our panoramas. And it was the
place I always wanted to go back to at times when a strong Atlantic wind
prevented our drone from flying.
[{Image src='05_Church of Santa Engracia, National Pantheon.jpg' caption='Church of Santa Engracia, National Pantheon' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='984'}]
It is an absolutely magical and beautiful place situated at the distance
of just a half-an-hour's ride from Lisbon. I remember how bewildered I
was by a serpentine path twisting around the hill where the Pena Palace
is situated. Great number of turns and huge trees hanging over the road,
the lack of place where we could leave our car - all these seemed to
prevent us from making panoramas of this beautiful Palace. The
administration took no notice of our request, so we were not given the
permission to fly over the territories of the park.
Having spent several hours wandering around the park, we finally found
several places where we could launch our drone and it could reach the
walls of the Palace; so we began to work. But the next day, as soon as
we launched our drone, I had a conversation with a security guard who
kindly requested not to fly over the territory of the park anymore.
Fortunately, we had already finished with the main views of the Pena
Palace, so we felt free to leave for Porto. But our adventures in Porto
were a different story, which we will share in a special tour.
[{Image src='06_Christ the King (Cristo Rei).jpg' caption='Christ the King (Cristo Rei)' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='432'}]
As soon as we were back to Lisbon, we visited the statue of Christ the
King erected on a high bank of the Tagus River. Although the statue
belongs to the municipality of Almada, we decided that the Lisbon tour
would be incomplete without this monument.
Lisbon turned out to be a rather tricky city. Narrow streets with tight
web of tram-lines and, as a result, of cables above our heads, limited
our choice of places where we could launch our drone. Generally, it
becomes more and more complicated to fly over the European capitals due
to the ambiguous attitude of the local authorities. For example,
drone-flights have been recently prohibited in France. With this in
mind, we tried not to be noticed by the local authorities.
But here, in Portugal, we were much luckier! The Lisbon inhabitants were
quite positive towards us and what we did. Only once, while we were
flying over one of the central squares, police patrol came up and
wondered what we were taking photos of and why. But the warmest welcome
we received near Belém where one can find a plenty of summer cafes
crowded by tourists and locals as well.
[{Image src='07_Rossio Square (Pedro IV Square).jpg' caption='Rossio Square (Pedro IV Square)' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='655'}]
The only place that we did not manage to shoot at our first time was the
25th of April Bridge (25 de Abril Bridge). Having arrived at sunrise, I
found out that a US warship was moored near the bridge. I thought I
would not be that lucky to fly unnoticed near such a threatening
neighbour. I was not ready to cause an international row, so I postponed
the shooting. What was my disappointment when, having returned to the
bridge in couple of days, I found the ship at the same place! But this
time we had a stroke of luck: at the first light of dawn, the ship
hoisted the flag and moved towards the Atlantic Ocean. Without delay, I
lifted the drone to the middle of the river, which width is more than 2
kilometers in this place. A huge cruise liner, sailing under the bridge
at that moment, was a kind of compensation to the US warship that had
left the frame of the shot...
Time flew with a speed of the clouds floating by as I was sitting on a
terrace in a cafe. It was time to pack and go to the airport. Before I
left the park I stopped to look back at the Pena Palace - one day I will
be back here, I promise!
\\ \\
[27 Panoramas of Lisbon|Geography/Europe/Portugal/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Lisbon]
[{SET customtitle='Lisbon (AP)'}]
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