The municipality of Matosinhos, Porto district, is located in the Northern Region in Greater Porto and is located at the mouth of the river Leça. It is part of the Porto Metropolitan Area.
Its landscape is divided between the urban character of Matosinhos and Leça da Palmeira, where settled the commerce and the industry, and by its beaches that are filled with vacationers in the summer months.
Of contemporary architecture, one should inevitably speak of Álvaro Siza whose ties to Matosinhos are very strong. From the outset on the level of emotions: Alvaro Siza was born in Matosinhos, his first memories necessarily have the clipping, the aroma, the sounds of his city.
Matosinhos was very inspiring. Matosinhos jealously guard the works of Siza, those of his youth, icons of world architecture, national monuments: the Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, Piscina das Marés, built between the rocks, were not - would the author say - in time The view from the sea line. These are the best places to visit in Matosinhos.
Classified as a national monument, this medieval property is considered one of the finest architectural examples in the country, transitioning from Romanesque to Gothic. With origin before the century. X, was later (12th century) the first mother house of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of Malta in Portugal. From the Romanesque construction remains, at the back of the church, an incomplete wing of the cloister, a portal and a window with vegetal decoration.
It was rebuilt in the century. XIV, according to the model of the fortress churches. The main Gothic-style façade, with its large rosary radiated and topped by an Order of Malta cross, features a Romanesque moth-crowned keep.
The new Cruise Terminal is the largest project ever to open the port to the city, making the Port of Leixões an important gateway in the region and definitely boosting the growth of cruise liners and passengers in Leixões. increasingly like a cruise port.
The new 340m long pier was opened in April 2011, allowing the largest cruise liners to dock in Leixões, now accommodating most cruise ships in the current world fleet.
Map
