• Source: Rotunda da Boavista

Rotunda da Boavista, officially known as the Praça de Mouzinho de Albuquerque, is a large roundabout in Porto, Portugal. It honours Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque, a Portuguese soldier who fought in Africa during the 19th century.




History and symbolism



A 45 m (148 ft) column in the middle of the rotunda (Monumento aos Heróis da Guerra Peninsular) commemorates the victory of the Portuguese and the British against the French troops that invaded Portugal during the Peninsular War (1807–1814). The column, slowly built between 1909 and 1951, is a project by the celebrated Porto architect José Marques da Silva and the sculptor Alves de Sousa. The column is topped by a lion, the symbol of the joint Portuguese and British victory, which is bringing down the French imperial eagle. Around the base are sculptures of soldiers and civilians, the latter representing the 4000 people of Porto who died in the Porto Boat Bridge disaster of 29 March 1809 when the Ponte das Barcas pontoon bridge they were crossing to flee from Napoleon's troops collapsed.
Completion of the column was delayed by two World Wars, and the monument was finally unveiled in 1952, some years after the deaths of both the sculptor and the architect, thanks to the dedicated work of Marques da Silva's daughter and son-in-law, Maria José Marques da Silva and David Moreira da Silva, themselves also architects.




Location


The Casa da Música, Porto's modern music venue, is located in the Rotunda da Boavista.
The Rotunda da Boavista has 31416 m2 of area and there are eight streets reaching this roundabout:

Avenida da Boavista (twice)
Rua de Caldas Xavier
Rua da Meditação
Rua de Júlio Dinis
Rua de Nossa Senhora de Fátima
Avenida de França
Rua de Cinco de Outubro




References






External links


Rotunda da Boavista / Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque

Media related to Praça de Mouzinho de Albuquerque (Porto) at Wikimedia Commons

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Rotunda da Boavista
• Casa da Música
• Office for Metropolitan Architecture
• List of city squares
• Victory column
• Batalha Square
• Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque