Paul Buck

This book is part of the Cities of Imagination series of nearly 40 books that explores the arts, culture and history of some of the world's great cities, and was written by a British poet, translator and playwright who has visited the Portuguese capital numerous times. Starting at the Praça do Comércio, the square of commerce which sits along the Rio Tejo (River Tagus) that was built after much of the city was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake, Buck provides the reader with a short history of Lisbon and its important place in Portuguese and European history. He introduces us to the concept of saudade, the nostalgia for the past that infuses the city and influences fado, the mournful musical genre that Lisbon is best known for. The Praça do Comércio sits between the city's two main ferry terminals, the Terreiro do Paço and the Cais do Sodré, and the author uses this vantage point to describe the first impressions of it by several famous writers, most notably and notoriously Lord Byron, along with Henry Fielding, Anais Nin and Paul Bowles. Several movies filmed in the city are mentioned in this section and subsequent ones, along with novels written by non-Portuguese visitors.

After leaving the river our tour guide takes us to central Lisbon, the heart and oldest section of the city, and introduces us to its preeminent writer, the poet and novelist Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935), whose sculpture is featured outside of his favorite meeting place, the Café a Brasileira in the Chiado neighborhood. As we "walk" through these neighborhoods Buck introduces us to several of the city's other authors, in particular the Nobel laureate José Saramago, Teolinda Gersão and Antonio Tabucchi, who was born in Italy but spent most of his life in Lisbon. We view the city from several miradouros, designated vantage points on one of the city's numerous hills, visit the Jardim Botânico (Botanical Garden), with its hundreds of topical plants, and the Gulbenkian Museum, where we learn about two major modern artists, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and Paula Rego, go to a fado house and listen to singers influenced by Amália Rodrigues and hopefully hear morna, the music from Cape Verde, Angola and Mozambique, watch a jazz set in the tiny Hot Clube, and finish with a meal of bacalhau (salted cod) and port wine in an all night restaurant. On subsequent days Buck takes us to the other major neighborhoods to the north, east and west, along with the historically important towns of Bélem and Sintra.

Lisbon: A Cultural and Literary Companion is a superb introduction to the Portuguese capital, particularly for first time visitors like myself who are interested in its history, culture and vibe. Paul Buck's portrayal of Lisbon is affectionate and enticing without being overly effusive, and I plan to go through this book once more before I make my first visit to the city next month.… (meer)

Lisbona è una città straordinaria, ma nel libro di Buck è maggiormente capace di ammaliare. Non sono solo le descrizioni di monumenti, chiese, piazze, locali a emozionarci, specie se si conosce già la capitale o se si legge in libro in situ, troviamo anche una serie di preziose "istantanee" letterarie, riferimenti a viaggiatori eccezionali in transito o di stanza a Lisbona: Thomas Mann, Eric Maria Remarque, Simone de Beauvoir che l'hanno descritta e commentata. Il testo è ricchissimo: accoglie anche racconti su Cesaria Evora, Amalia Rodriguez, Fernando Pessoa, le esperienze di Wenders impegnato in Lisbon Story, e del gruppo dei Madredeus, c'è perfino un tocco di lirismo dedicato meritatamente alla celebre pastelaria di Belem… (meer)