There are towns charming to see from above. And other ones that are urprising when leveled with the ground. Porto Alegre fits itself on the second group. It is composed by plane and low areas that make a diversified geography to its topography and make the city a special place.
If we do not have skyscrapers or megaprojects to be admired from above, there are a lot of options to appreciate from down here. Just look around. The nature intervention is subtle, but of a peculiar beauty. A ring made by little round mountains frame this landscape. From the top, within the bucolic vegetation, it is possible to observe the capital’s perimeter and, on sunny days, even neighbor towns.
With 496,6 square kilometers of area and 1,484 million inhabitants, Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous capital of the country. It shelters, on Arquipélago district where the Guaíba river lies, 16 islands, canals, swamps and bogs which comprehend the famous Delta do Jacuí.
Seen from the river, which some may call lake, the big yellow warehouses from the pier, resemble its portuary origins, but its shore is the most generous postcard and source of inspiration to musicians, writers and poets.
From Gasômetro, at the Historical Centre, until the big sidewalk of Ipanema, at South Zone, the fresh water lane preserves an extraordinary landscape to be contemplated calmly on sunny days or when night falls.
At this Porto (Harbor, Port) that one day was was called dos Casais (Couples’, so, Couples’ Harbor), in allusion of the arrival of Portuguese immigrants from Açores in the end of the 18th century, where couples, looking for a romantic memento, elected nightfall by the shore for framing it. The choice has a special reason:
– To see the sun giving place to starry nights.
With this background that shines and fills Guaíba river with colour, Porto Alegre lets us all fascinated.
