Whs | Cultural Landscape of Sintra |
---|---|
State party | |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | ii, iv, v |
Id | 723 |
Region | Europe and North America |
Year | 1995 |
Session | 19th |
Link | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/723 |
Sintra has become a major tourist attraction, with many day-trippers visiting from nearby Lisbon. Attractions include the fabulous Pena Palace (19th c.) and the castle Castelo dos Mouros (8th or 9th century, reconstructed in the 19th century) with a breath-taking view of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, and the summer residence of the kings of Portugal Palácio Nacional de Sintra (largely 15th/16th century), in the town itself. The Sintra Mountain Range, one of the largest parks in the Lisbon area, (Serra de Sintra) is also a major tourist attraction.
In 1809 Lord Byron wrote to his friend Francis Hodgson, "I must just observe that the village of Cintra in Estremadura is the most beautiful in the world."
The town was already described in the 11th century by the Arab geographer Al-Bacr and later by the poets Luís de Camões and Lord Byron (Childe Harold's Pilgrimage - 1809). The Moors built the Castelo dos Mouros in the 8th or 9th century. When Afonso Henriques recaptured Sintra in 1147, he ordered the construction of a church (Igreja de São Pedro de Canaferrim) inside the castle walls.
In 1493, Christopher Columbus sailing for the Spanish crown, was blown off course by gale force winds and fearing for the survival of his ship, spotted the Rock of Sintra. Despite the awkwardness of seeking safe harbor in Portugal, Columbus had no choice under the circumstances and sailed from there into the Port of Lisbon.
In 1507, Diogo Boitac built the Hieronymite monastery of Nossa Senhora da Pena on the nearby hilltop. In 1527 king Manuel I commissioned to Nicolau Chanterene the large, white marble and alabaster altarpiece for the chapel. This retable is his finest work.
In 1808, it was the site of the signing of the controversial Convention of Sintra, which ended the first French invasion of Portugal.
The parishes of Sintra near Lisbon are in a demographic and construction boom; some of them have more residents than many important municipalities of Portugal.
In 1995 Sintra was designated World Heritage Site for the "Cultural Landscape of Sintra". It includes:
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Within the context of development cooperation, Sintra is also linked to:
Asilah, Morocco (since August 2006) El Jadida, Morocco Trindade, São Tomé & Príncipe Bissau, Guinea-Bissau Lobito, Angola Havana, Cuba Vila Nova Sintra, Cape Verde Islands Petrópolis, Brazil Namaacha, Mozambique
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