In Love With Lisbon

Category: Things to See and Do in Lisbon

  • The Thank You Statue

    Azulejo 9On one of my wandering days in Lisbon, I came across a striking statue surrounded by hundreds of  marble plaques with messages of thanks. It is situated on Campo dos Mártires da Pátria. At the time I really wasn’t sure what I was looking at but sensed this place was more like a shrine than just a statue. I experienced a sensation of peace and healing just standing and looking. I took many photos as it captured my imagination and I wanted to find out more about this evocative and intense statue.

    Sousa Statue
    © ILWL

    It wasn’t until I had come back to England and uploaded my photos to Flickr that I got my first lead. A kind Flickr member left me a message explaining the origin of the statue and its purpose and from there I’ve done a little research.

    The statue is of one Dr. Sousa Martins, born 7th March 1842. He grew up in a district of Lisbon called Alhandra but moved to Lisbon city at the age of 12 to help his uncle in the pharmaceutical business. He became a talented pharmacist, a university professor and renowned doctor who spent a great deal of time treating the poor. It is this devotion to the poor that became his legacy and whilst not officially sainted, he is treated as one by many. The spirit of Dr. Sousa Martins is still called upon today to help those suffering from ill health and tales are told of miracles that have occured. The Thank You statue (as I call it) is a mark of all those who have seen their prayers answered. His statue is often visited on March 7th or August 18th (the date of his death).

    The house where Dr. Sousa Martins lived in Alhandra has been turned into a museum commemorating his work and there are several other statues honouring him around the area. Flowers and plaques seem to be the most popular ways of giving thanks.

    Thank you plaques
    © ILWL

    I have seen the reverence to Dr. Sousa Martins refered to as a cult. Studied by anthropologists and sociologists, the Church have quietly refused to give him the official title of saint.

    I felt the profound gratitude carved into the plaques. The flowers were beautiful and I was very moved by the place. Each plaque was a story of someone who had suffered and who had triumphed. Miracles or not, this quiet shrine is worth a moments investigation on your travels.

    The Museum of Alhandra – House of Dr. Sousa

  • Photographing Lisbon on Flickr

    Azulejo 8In Love With Lisbon’s Flickr Group has now hit 100 photos (now almost 1000 in 2012!). I became a member of Flickr when I came back from my first trip to Lisbon last May and have been a fan ever since. If you have never investigated Flickr I highly recommend it. It has been a source of inspiration to me both for this website and also for other pursuits such as writing and music. As well as being able to flick through other people’s holiday snaps, there are some stunning images captured by talented amateur photographers as well as professionals. There are millions of photos to see covering all aspects of life. People, animals, places, cute puppies, a thousands sunsets, hidden places, the weird and wacky, arty, mysteries and so on. There are groups dedicated to the colour blue, haunting photographs, black and white, sepia, food, trees, hearts and more. If you have any kind of creative inclinations you can while away a good few hours here. If you are a photographer the community discussions and notes on photos can give you some excellent tips.

    Lisbon view
    © ILWL

    In Love With Lisbon’s Flickr group was born last August, a few weeks after the site went live. Like its mother ship, the group has steadily been growing. The aim of the group was to show images that “capture the heart of Portugal’s beautiful capital city”. There was already a wonderful group called Illustrar Portugal and groups for other specific places in Portugal as well as an already thriving Portuguese run Lisbon group called Amar Lisboa (Loving Lisbon –of course I rather like that title!).

    I have been spending more quality time on Flickr in order to build the ILWL group and it is wonderful to make new connections and see how others see Lisbon. Looking through all the images already submitted to the pool is like dipping into a warm sunny afternoon in the beautiful city.  It makes me smile, makes me feel nostalgic, makes me sense that ever present saudade.

    I love how different people notice different things: the dogs lying on the mosaic pavement, a couple dancing in the street, a rainbow over the castle, azulejos galore, graffiti, buskers, famous faces, quiet shadows, places that seem like they were just waiting to be discovered, steps in Alfama, modern sculpture. Like Lisbon itself, the group has so much to see and to say.

    I want to say a personal thankyou to everyone who has submitted so far to the group and to those who have also chosen to become members. Do look us up if you are a member of Flickr, and if you’re not a member why not come and join us? Whilst some choose to pay for a subscription, anyone can set up a free account and can use it to upload their photos to share with the world. Of course if you have some photos of Lisbon please submit them to the In Love With Lisbon pool!

    In true community spirit, here are a list of other groups relating to Portugal that I really like. I’m sure you are going to love what you see.

    In Love With Lisbon

    Portuguese Food and Drink (another group I also started)

    Amar Lisboa

    Ilustrar Portugal

    Postais Ilustrados de Portugal Huge long running group with thousands of images

    Lisboa

    Lisboa na Rua

    Azulejos de Portugal If you love Portuguese tile then this is for you

    Alfama

    Portugal Unlimited