I have recently returned from a few days in Lisbon, Portugal where I fell in love with the narrow cobbled streets of the Bairro Alto - the Old Quarter. The Bairro's maze of streets holds an eclectic mix of traditional and modern Lisbon. Fashionable boutiques, contemporary art galleries, cool bars, modern restaurants, traditional Fado music clubs, charming grocery shops and original homes stand side by side.
Nowhere is the mix of old and new more evident than from the exterior of the buildings. I was fascinated by the intricate patterns created by traditional ceramic tiles; the beautiful designs within aged wrought iron railings, precariously perched on upper floor windows; the pretty colours of more recently painted plaster-work; the modern graffiti painted walls.
Ahhh! Yes the graffiti. In places artistic. In others, scrawled across walls and doors of people's homes. I wonder does this also show an eclectic mix of the traditional and contemporary working together side by side? Or, is it simply the demise of an historical area through vandalism?
Bairro Alto, Lisbon
Image by Re-Design For Life
Bairro Alto, Lisbon
Image by Re-Design For Life
Bairro Alto, Lisbon
Image by Re-Design For Life
Bairro Alto, Lisbon
Image by Re-Design For Life
