OPORTO, the second city of Portugal, about 3 m. from the mouth of the Douro, in 41° 8' N. and 8° 37' W. Pop. (1930) 232,280. The part of the city south of the Douro is known as Villa Nova de Gaia. Oporto is the see of a bishop. It is the true capital of northern Portugal, and the commercial and political rival of Lisbon, in much the same way as Barcelona (q.v.) is the rival of Madrid. Three main railway lines meet here—from Lis bon, from Valenta do Minho on the northern frontier, and from Barca d'Alva on the north-western frontier. Oporto is built chiefly on the north or right bank of the Douro; its principal suburbs are Bomfim on the east, Monte Pedral and Paranhos on the north, Villar Bicalho, Lordello and Sao Joao da Foz on the west, Ram alde, Villarinha, Matosinhos, Leca da Palmeira and the port of Leixoes on the north-west. The mouth of the river is obstructed by a sandy spit of land which has been enlarged by the deposits of silt constantly washed down by the swift current; on the north side of this bar is a narrow channel varying in depth from 16 ft. to 19 ft. A fort in Sao Joao da Foz protects the entrance, and there is a lighthouse on a rock outside the bar. As large vessels cannot enter the river, a harbour has been made at Leixoes (q.v.).
The approach to Oporto up the winding and fjord-like estuary is one of singular beauty. On the north the streets rise in terraces up the steep bank, built in many cases of granite overlaid with plaster, so that white is the prevailing colour of the city; on the south are the hamlets of Gaia and Furada, and the red-tiled wine lodges of Villa Nova de Gaia, in which vast quantities of port are manufactured and stored. The architecture of the houses and public buildings is often rather Oriental than European in appear ance. Palms, oranges and aloes grow side by side with the flowers and fruits of northern Europe, for the climate is mild and very equable, the mean temperatures for January and July—the coldest and the hottest months—being respectively about 50° and 70°. The design of some of the native river craft is peculiar—among them may be mentioned the caicos, high-prowed canoe-like fishing boats, the rascas with their three lateen sails, and the barcos rabello, flat-bottomed barges with huge rudders, used for the con veyance of wine down stream. Two remarkable iron bridges, the Maria Pia and the Dom Luiz I., span the river. The first was built by Messrs. Eiffel and Company of Paris in 1876-77; it rests on a granite substructure and carries the Lisbon railway line across the Douro ravine at a height of 200 ft. The second was constructed in 1881-85 by a Belgian firm; its arch, one of the largest in Europe, has a span of 560 ft. The Douro is liable in winter to sudden and violent floods; in 1909–to the water rose 4o ft. at
Oporto, where it is confined in a deep and narrow bed.
The older quarters in the east are extremely picturesque, with their steep and narrow lanes overshadowed by lofty balconied houses. Overcrowding and dirt are common, for the density of population is nearly 13,000 per sq.m., or greater than in any other city of Portugal. The completion of the tramway system was long delayed. Ox-carts are used for the conveyance of heavy goods, and until late in the 19th century sedan-chairs were still occasion ally used. As a rule the natives of Oporto are strong and of fine physique ; they also show fewer signs of negro descent than the people of Lisbon. Their numbers tend to increase very rapidly; in 1864 the population of Oporto was 86,751, but in 1878 it rose to 105,838 and nearly doubled in the next half century. Many of the men emigrate to South America, where their industry usually enables them to prosper, and to return with considerable savings.
The cathedral, which stands at the highest point of eastern Oporto, on the site of the Visigothic citadel, was originally a Romanesque building of the 12th century; its cloisters are Gothic of the 14th century, but the greater part of the fabric was mod ernized in the 17th and I8th centuries. The interior of the cloisters is adorned with blue and white tiles, painted to represent scenes from the Song of Solomon. The Romanesque and early Gothic church of Sao Martinho de Cedo Feita is the most interesting ecclesiastical building in Oporto, especially noteworthy being the curiously carved capitals of its pillars. Though the present struc ture is not older, except in details, than the 12th century, the church is said to have been "hastily built" (cedo feita, cito facts) by Theodomir, king of the Visigoths, in 559, to receive the relics of St. Martin of Tours, which were then on their way hither from France. The Torre dos Clerigos is a granite tower 246 ft. high, built in the middle of the 18th century at the expense of the local clergy (clerigos), it stands on a hill and forms a conspicuous land mark for sailors. Nossa Senhora da Lapa is a fine 18th-century church, Corinthian in style; Sao Francisco is a Gothic basilica dating from 1410; Nossa Senhora da Serra do Pilar is a secularized Augustinian convent used as artillery barracks, and marks the spot at which Wellington forced the passage of the Douro in 1809. The exchange (lonja) is another secularized convent, decorated with coloured marbles. Parts of the interior are floored and pan elled with polished native-coloured woods from Brazil, which are inlaid in elaborate patterns; there is a very handsome staircase, and the fittings of one large room are an excellent modern copy of Moorish ornamentation.