A bit of local history.

Another sunny day in Figueira!

Here is another old photo of Figueira, probably even older than the previous one I found, to judge by the clothes people are wearing. I don’t think I would have liked to be so wrapped up on a sunny day but that was how people dressed back in the day. They would have been quite shocked to see the two young men I saw this morning, running bare-chested with their t-shirts tied around their waists. According to the information with the picture, Figueira da Foz was elevated to the category of “vila”, small town I think, in 1772 and became a “cidade”, bigger town or city, in 1882. 

According to wikipedia Figueira has been around for a good while. “Some historical traces show that people were settling in this region since the Neolithic age. The oldest known document, however, dates from the year 1096. In this, an abbot named Pedro donates estates, which belonged to the church of S. Julião, to the cathedral of Coimbra.”

Apparently it owes much of its development to the expansion of the shipbuilding industry and the cod drying industry. Who knew that cod drying was so important and influential? It became known as a seaside resort towards the end of the 19th century and gained a great reputation in the 1920s and 1930s for its fine beaches. The city had the Portuguese nickname of Rainha das Praias (Queen of the Beaches).

There you go! A bit of history. 

Late yesterday evening some of the organisers and players in the tournament here were off to the casino. We have often remarked on the size of the building. Now ai have learnt that it is one of the biggest in the Iberian Peninsula. 

And today we are going to lunch at another Figueira landmark, the Nucleo Sportinguista da Figueira da Foz. It’s really a kind of club connected to the football team but it also has a large and unpretentious restaurant which serves copious plates of fish! We try to visit every time we come here. It’s become a kind of pilgrimage!

Now, here’s an article about places people have recommended as holiday destinations, based on connections to books they have read or films and TV series they have watched. Disappointingly there is no mention of going to Sicily to see the places where they filmed Montalbano. Back in pre-pandemic times we went with a group from my Italian conversation class - grown-ups, some quite elderly, getting excited to sit behind Inspector Montalbano’s desk, to look at his house, and even in some cases to swim in his bit of sea! We hope to return there sometime in the next year!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!