Strangely, my hotels in both Porto and Lisbon were within close proximity to imposing monuments commemorating Europe's early 19th century Peninsular War. That's when Portugal, Spain and England joined forces to beat Napoleon back from the Iberian peninsula. At the top of this column (completed only a year before my birth!) , a lion, representing the Portuguese and British armies, brings down the French imperial eagle but the story of the figures at the base is more tragic: they represent the 4,000 soldiers and citizens of Porto who died while fleeing Napoleon's army when their combined weight collapsed a bridge over the Douro River. A dark, disturbing painting at the Bishop's Palace also depicted this national trauma.
After a good night's sleep, I was on my way to a contemporary art museum located far from the historic center but within walking distance of my hotel, noticing everything.
On the twisting Rue de Serralves, I stumbled upon dozens of tiny ceramic plates, tiles and spoons affixed to a wall
. . . along with a hair cutting establishment called "The Godbarber"
. . . a very old door
. . . Jesus's mailbox
. . . and meta bike parking! Behind this empty rack, I caught my first glimpse of Casa de Serralves, a pink Art Deco villa, and perhaps the most distinctive feature of the wonderful museum and park.
In addition to seeing several terrific exhibitions of contemporary art ("Entelechy," "To Whom It May Concern: A Collection, A Letter" and a Carla Filipe retrospective) at the extraordinary museum housed in another building, I spent a couple of hours exploring the park. It felt as if I had the place to myself.
There's also a stand-alone museum (the villa's former garage) with an interactive exhibit devoted to the archives of Manoel de Oliveira, a Porto-born Portuguese filmmaker whose centenarian-plus life extended from the silent movie era to the awful age of IP. Although I'd never heard of him before stepping inside, I won't soon forget the crash course I got quite by chance through an astonishing collection of video clips, marketing materials, equipment, scripts and awards.
Even the men's room graphics are cool at Serralves.
There's also a pasture
. . . a wildflower meadow
. . . and a trippy exhibit in another stand-alone space devoted to the art of mushrooms!
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| Mushrooms by Sylvie Fleury (2005-2011) |
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| "Thames Mud Before Dawn" by Hamish Pearch (2021) |
Not to mention the treetops walking tour, and the sculpture and rose gardens but you'll have to watch the longest video I've ever shot to see those.
The Serralves contains multitudes--do not, DO NOT miss it if you ever find yourself in Porto. It's more impressive than the Guggenheim Bilbao by a mile. Oops, I mean 50 acres.
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