Portugal - 2010 - Second Quarter

Continuing with our catch-up, let's look at the 2nd quarter for Portugal.

06-Apr - Pão Tradicional (2nd series)

In the 2nd series of CTT's celebration of traditional bread in Portugal, our mouths will water with the sight of these juicy samples of bread: 32 cents shows a Broa (cornbread from Entre-Douro-e-Minho), 47 cents show Padas (a tradition in Beira Litoral), 68 cents show Broa de Avintes (cornbread from Douro Litoral), 80 cents show bread from Alentenjo, and, finally, the souvenir sheet shows bread from Extremadura (Carcaça, sold mainly in cafés, and the famous Mafra bread).

22-Apr - Vultos da História e da Cultura

CTT celebrates 4 figures of Portuguese history in 2010. Francisco Keil do Amaral was an architect during the 20th century, famous for projecting Parque Eduardo VII, which lays in front of the emblematic Marquês de Pombal rotunda. Alexandre Herculano was a historian in the 19th century and is famous for introducing romanticism into Portugal, as well as being, along with Almeida Garrett, a reformer of portuguese theatre. Fernão Mendes Pinto was a traveller and author from the 16th century and is the author of the world famous book Pilgrimmage (Peregrinação). Finally, Gomes Eanes de Azurara, born in 1410, was a famous chronicler, including the Chronicle of the Seige and Capture of Ceuta.

30-Apr - 50 Anos do Jardim Botânico da Madeira

Hiding behind the breathtaking beauty that is the Botanical Gardens of Madeira is the highly significant scientific importance of this 50 year old garden. For 50 years these gardens have been a center for the study and conservation of flora and vegetation of Madeira and other arquipelagos.

07-May - Europa 2010 - Livros Infantis

As is tradition in Portugal, the Europa theme is celebrated with a stamp from each of the Portuguese territories (Continent, Madeira and Azores). The 3 themes are the following: "Macaco de Rabo Cortado" (the Monkey with the Broken Tail), "Donzela que foi à Guerra" (the Lady that went to War), and "Lenda das 7 Cidades" (the Legend of the 7 Cities). A very colorful set of stamps to celebrate Children's Books in 2010's edition of Europa stamps.

10-May - Visita de Sua Santidade, O Papa Bento XVI a Portugal

With the objective of commemorating the Pope's visit to Portugal in May 2010, CTT issued a set of stamps in honor of Bento XVI and other great Popes of the Church, Paul VI and John Paul II.

17-May - Elevadores Públicos em Portugal

The hilly nature of many Portuguese cities showed how useful and important public elevators were. Today only 8 remain and all are presented in this interesting stamp set. Bom Jesus of Braga (€0,68) is the oldest of all elevators, inaugurated in March 1882. The Lavra in Lisbona (souvenir sheet, left) was opened in April 1884. The Glória came next (€0,47) in October 1885. In Nazaré an elevator was built in 1889 (€1,00), followed by the Guindais in Oporto in 1891 (€0,57), that was closed down in 1893 but rebuilt on occasion of the 2001 Cultural Capital event. The next 2 are in Lisbon: the Bica (left side souvenir sheet) opened in 1892, and the famous Santa Justa (€0,32) opened in 1902. Last but not least is the Santa Luzia in Viana de Castelo opened in 1923.

31-May - Campeonato do Mundo de Futebol

The World Cup is held in Africa for the first time ever and CTT could not ignore this important world event with high hopes for the Portuguese nation.

07-Jun - Teatro em Portugal (1st series)

A new series from CTT, Theatre in Portugal is being celebrated, starting with some of its greatest representatives from the end of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period: Gil Vicente (Auto da Barca do Inferno), Sá de Miranda (a Renaissance artist), António Ferreira, Luís de Camões, D. Francisco Manuel de Melo and António José da Silva.

21-Jun - Queijos Portugueses (1st series)

For all you cheese lovers out there, this one's for you! CTT provides you with a juicy offering of Portuguese cheese from all across the country. We have Rabaçal (a mix of sheet and goat's milk from near Coimbra), Serra da Estrela (made of sheep's milk), Azeitão (made from sheep's milk near Setubal), Cabra Transmontano (Goat cheese from Trás-os-Montes) and São Jorge (cow's milk with a spicy taste from Açores).

24-Jun - 100 Anos da Implantação da República - Bustos da República

In the year that Portugal celebrates its 100 year as a Republican state, CTT celebrates this occasion with a number of sets throughout the year. In this issue, the theme of this miniature sheet are Busts (Scupltures) of the Republic.

30-Jun - Emissão Conjunta Roménia-Portugal

In this joint issue with Romania, both countries demonstrate their common tradition of designing ceramic tilework (azulejos).