Portugal with Michael Portillo S01 E02
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00:00This year, millions of us will escape to Portugal to enjoy its year-round sunshine, warm welcome,
00:11and some of Europe's most popular beaches and golf resorts.
00:16What first brought you here?
00:17You're looking at it.
00:19But scratch beneath the surface and there's a whole country to be discovered.
00:26The road is like ice.
00:30I want to show you what makes Portugal so appealing and worth exploring.
00:35Look at this.
00:36Absolutely on an epic scale.
00:40From its north.
00:41I'm in a tunnel underneath the Roman Forum.
00:46To its south.
00:47Every day I come down, I'm in love.
00:51And beyond.
00:52This is like a garden of Eden, isn't it?
00:54It's unique.
00:55Nothing like Europe.
00:57We'll explore Portugal's vibrant traditions.
01:00I don't know how they don't fall down.
01:03And colorful history.
01:04Here, all that glisters really is gold.
01:08It's delicious food.
01:10Good Lord, it really does taste of custard, doesn't it?
01:13And ancient crafts.
01:15Roll out the barrel.
01:17And celebrate our discoveries with old allies and newfound friends.
01:22Rejoice!
01:23Rejoice!
01:25The time has come!
01:35My journey in search of Portugal's heart and soul
01:38brings me close to the country's birthplace
01:42and its northern border with Spain.
01:45What a superb view.
01:47Founded by the Romans as Bracara Augusta in 16 BC,
01:52Braga is Portugal's oldest and third largest city.
01:58Braga attracts over two million visitors a year.
02:01Drawn to its ancient centre
02:04and to the spectacular Bom Jesus Shrine.
02:07Built into the mountain, it overlooks the city.
02:10You can see the Holy Grail.
02:12That is extraordinary.
02:14That has earned it the nickname the Rome of Portugal.
02:18I'll begin my search for Portugal's origins further north,
02:22in one of the country's oldest and prettiest towns, Ponte de Lima.
02:31Every year, it explodes into life
02:34as up to a million people celebrate the region's heritage
02:38and its proud position at the origin of Portuguese history.
02:48Alfonso was the first king of Portugal.
02:51And by force of arms, he gained independence from Spanish rulers
02:56in 1143 and seized masses of territory
03:00from Muslims who'd invaded in previous centuries.
03:03And he declared that Portugal was born here,
03:07in this region between the Minho and Juro rivers.
03:11Today, an area of beautiful green slopes,
03:15stately homes preside over valleys crowded with vineyards.
03:19And how could I not be excited about this adventure
03:22when it begins with such a stunning panorama?
03:29On this journey of discovery...
03:31Lush with excitement, I'm off!
03:34..we'll prepare an iconic delicacy.
03:37OK, and the cod is cut.
03:40Marvellous.
03:42I'm faced under a full moon.
03:44My gastric juices are running wild.
03:48We'll follow in the footsteps of pilgrims.
03:51I repent my sins. I repent.
03:54And I get myself all in a spin.
03:57This is the right side of my skirt.
03:59Ooh-la-la!
04:07My first port of call, Ponte de Lima,
04:10is being host to one of Portugal's biggest festivals,
04:13the Feira Nova.
04:18As dusk falls, I join hundreds of thousands
04:22in enjoying the final night's festivities,
04:25to party and celebrate into the night.
04:28It's the culmination of three days of revelry,
04:31with dancers and musicians from across the region.
04:35I am in the most north-western corner of Portugal,
04:39and I have come to Ponte de Lima,
04:42which is officially Portugal's oldest town.
04:45It got its charter in 1125,
04:47although it has a Roman bridge,
04:49which is obviously many centuries older than that.
04:52The small population of the place hosts
04:55to one million pilgrims and revelers.
04:59There will be dancing and singing
05:02and folklore and fireworks,
05:05and a massive consumption of food
05:08and the taking of drink.
05:11A continuous throng of dancers, musicians and families
05:16descends the hill from outside the town,
05:19packing its medieval streets and square.
05:22There's barely room to move.
05:25The whole community obviously gets swept along.
05:29Celebrated in Ponte de Lima for almost 200 years,
05:33the Feira Nova, which translates as New Fair,
05:37reminds me of the great fiestas of Spain.
05:40My host is its wonderfully enthusiastic organiser, Maria.
05:45I am so lucky to be in Ponte de Lima
05:48at the time when you've got this great festival going on.
05:51It must be a very important part of your year in the town.
05:54Absolutely. This is one of the most important Feiras Novas.
05:59And Feiras Novas means New Festivities.
06:02Exactly.
06:04It's a very important fair in Ponte de Lima
06:07because it's 200 years old fair.
06:10So when this festival was invented in 1826,
06:14it was, by comparison with the charter of the town in 1125, very new.
06:19You are describing perfectly what is Feiras Novas.
06:26As in Spain, fairs often receive permission by royal decree.
06:31King Dom Pedro IV approved the Feiras Novas in 1826.
06:38Originally a day of religious observance,
06:41it's now one of Portugal's biggest celebrations of local culture.
06:45Maria has found us a plumb spot to enjoy it.
06:49Well, this gives us a very good view, Maria.
06:52Yeah, fantastic view.
06:54The next group on stage features Maria's friend Paulina and her family.
07:00They have a very traditional costume, the scarves.
07:05The women are also wearing lots and lots of gold, gold chains, gold coins.
07:11MUSIC PLAYS
07:24This traditional folk dance is called vida, which means turn.
07:31It's thought to have originated in this part of Portugal in the 16th century.
07:40The dancing skirts of the girls, they twirl and they go backwards and forwards.
07:45For every single one, they twirl at the same moment and they fall to the side.
07:57I don't know how they don't fall down, exhausted and busy.
08:04And Paulina is there.
08:06Paulina!
08:08Maria's friends' group has just finished.
08:11Paulina!
08:15And I catch up with them down a quiet side street.
08:19Congratulations. Thank you. Paulina.
08:22Thank you very much. Antonio, Nicole. Thank you.
08:25For Nicole, her father Antonio and mother Paulina,
08:29traditional folk dance is a way of life.
08:32I couldn't believe the energy of it and the enthusiasm.
08:37I mean, are you not exhausted?
08:39A little bit, but even though we are very exhausted, it's worth it.
08:42At what age did you start to learn to dance?
08:44Since I was born, basically.
08:46She danced in my tummy. Yeah.
08:48I was pregnant and she was dancing.
08:50And the same for you. Presumably you were dancing when you were tiny children.
08:53I started dancing when I was about nine, but it was in Canada.
08:56Oh, OK. And we moved back to Portugal in 2001.
08:59Tell me a little bit about your costumes.
09:02As you were spinning around, it was glistening so beautifully.
09:05Yeah, these are called vidrilhos.
09:07Vidrilhos is glass. Yes.
09:09These are all handmade. And it has the escudo.
09:12We've got the shield. The shield that's in the Portuguese flag.
09:15How fabulous. Our inner skirts, they're handmade.
09:18Oh, la, la. This is the wrong side of my skirt.
09:21If I do this, this is the right side of my skirt.
09:24Can you figure out why? No. OK.
09:26When I turn...
09:29And who sees under sees all the designs that I've made on it.
09:34Yes. All the designs that we have.
09:36Which is why you put so much effort into it,
09:38because somebody's going to see it.
09:40I mean, it's not a hobby, this. It's a life commitment, isn't it?
09:43We go everywhere together. When we go on the bus, there's jokes.
09:46We eat together. This is our second family.
09:49Hey, I think you deserve a rest. You need to go and get a...
09:52What do you drink after you dance?
09:54Water. Water. You go and have a lovely water.
09:57That's the best thing.
10:00Tonight's festivities will continue until dawn,
10:04but I will have an early start in the morning.
10:07Although Ponte di Lima obviously attracts a lot of sightseers
10:11to its festival, I'm convinced that it has not survived
10:15for two centuries as a visitor attraction.
10:19It is their uncompromising commitment to standards of performance
10:25and a dress that keeps their tradition vibrant.
10:29And so they do all this out of a sense of self-esteem,
10:33not for the benefit of tourists.
10:40Coming up, I face a pilgrim's progress.
10:44Live the simple life. Yes. That's why we walk.
10:48And one of Portugal's founding families.
10:51How long has your family been here?
10:53I would say forever.
10:55Before climbing a sacred shrine.
10:58The knees are not really designed for stone, are they?
11:14Our journey discovering the real Portugal
11:17has brought us to its north-western corner,
11:20its oldest town, Ponte di Lima, was founded in 1125
11:26and is situated 15 miles south of the Spanish border.
11:31Today, this region upholds its historic Christian traditions.
11:36For centuries, pilgrims have trekked through the town,
11:39following markings along a sanctified pilgrim's route
11:43called the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St James,
11:48which ends in northern Spain.
11:53How exactly the remains of one of Christ's apostles,
11:58St James, who died in Jerusalem in 44AD,
12:02ended up in northern Spain is a very good question,
12:07but not one that has troubled the millions of fervent pilgrims
12:11who, since the 9th century,
12:13have walked to his shrine in Santiago de Compostela.
12:17I have myself plotted 130km of the route.
12:22Other people walk for thousands of kilometres.
12:26Some do it out of religious conviction or penance,
12:29some do it as a challenge, some just for the fun of it.
12:33But what everyone has in common
12:35is that it is an experience that they never forget.
12:39I started walking with my sister,
12:42and tomorrow we are going to meet our brother.
12:45I think it's going to be very emotional also
12:47because I haven't seen my brother for ten years.
12:50Have you walked the Camino before?
12:52Yes, we have, yes.
12:54Live the simple life. That's why we walk.
12:57What is it like when you come into that big square where the cathedral is?
13:01You're happy, you're crying, it's emotional.
13:05Yeah, I know a little bit about what you're saying.
13:07I know about that moment of arrival.
13:09Ponte de Lima
13:14Following in the footsteps of those pilgrims,
13:17my journey now takes us north of Ponte de Lima
13:20into the lush valley that surrounds it.
13:24At the time of Portugal's founding,
13:26Ponte de Lima was an important stronghold
13:29with trade along the river and a bridge.
13:35Many of Portugal's oldest and richest families settled here,
13:39and grand manor houses still dot the valley's slopes.
13:44I've come to meet the head of one such family,
13:47whose historic home overlooks a spectacular panorama.
13:53Come, Francisco. I'm Michael.
13:56Nice to meet you.
13:57What a pleasure.
13:58Welcome to this house.
14:00Well, what a gorgeous house and what an amazing setting.
14:05This is beautiful.
14:06From here, you can see the whole valley,
14:09particularly the Ponte de Lima.
14:12How wonderful to see the bridge with such clarity.
14:15The perfect spot.
14:16And then we're looking over your vines.
14:18Yes.
14:19On the roads, I've seen vehicles carrying huge quantities of grapes,
14:23so you must be harvesting right now.
14:25This is the first day of harvesting.
14:28You arrive exactly on the spot.
14:32The vines of the Lima Valley
14:34produce one of Portugal's best-known white wines,
14:37Vinho Verde, light, fresh and usually very good value.
14:42How long has your family been here?
14:45I would say forever.
14:47We are here from the 12th century.
14:50The village has our name, Calheiros.
14:53Calheiros family is one of the families in Portugal
14:57that is based in the same place from the beginning of Portugal.
15:04Through the ages,
15:06Count Francisco's ancestors have served at the heart
15:09of Portugal's military, diplomacy and government.
15:13Francisco, what a beautiful salon.
15:17There are some great paintings here.
15:19They are my great-grandfather and my great-grandmother.
15:24And then we have the Calheiros cotofarms
15:27with the five shells and the sticks used by the pilgrims walking.
15:32The scallop shell is the symbol of the Camino de Santiago.
15:36This comes from the 13th century
15:39and it was adopted by the family and accepted by the king.
15:45For as long as pilgrims have trudged through the valley,
15:48the estate's chapel has welcomed them for prayer and penitence.
15:54And since 1986, the Count has opened part of the house
15:58as a B&B to help with its upkeep.
16:01Guests can take cookery classes in the medieval kitchen,
16:05dine at the family table and sample the fruits of his labour.
16:12Now, vino verde, it means green wine,
16:15but it does not refer to the colour of the wine,
16:17which is actually rather yellow.
16:19Vino verde is because it's young.
16:22Green. Green because it's young.
16:26We've talked about the very long history of your family,
16:29centuries, going back to the foundation of Portugal.
16:32Does this feel like a big duty, a big obligation
16:36that sits upon your shoulders?
16:38It is, it is a responsibility.
16:41My son has been educated to preserve the house,
16:45to continue the house, and if something happened to me,
16:50it stops the career and comes to the house.
16:54Are the people who come to stay, are they an asset?
16:57Do you like having people here?
16:59When I started, my father was still alive.
17:02He said, son, maybe we are losing part of our privacy.
17:08But you get a new life too.
17:10People, they come as a guest and leave as a friend,
17:13do you know what I mean?
17:16Before I leave the valley,
17:19I return to Ponte de Lima to walk across the ancient bridge
17:24that has served the town for two millennia
17:27and is hallowed because of an heroic legend.
17:33The River Lima.
17:35It used to be known as the River Lethe,
17:38which, most unfortunately,
17:40was also the name of the river in mythology
17:43whose waters could cause people to lose their memories completely.
17:48And so when, in 138 BC,
17:51conquering but superstitious Roman soldiers arrived here,
17:56they simply refused to traverse.
17:59Now, their general, Decimus Junius Brutus Callicus,
18:03went over on his horse,
18:05and from the far bank he called back to each of his soldiers by name,
18:11proving that he'd lost neither his memory nor his sense of cunning.
18:18Since Roman times, the river has altered course,
18:22and the bridge's length was tripled during the Middle Ages.
18:27Halfway across, I put my own powers of recall to the test.
18:32I've chosen British prime ministers in the post-war period,
18:36so, Attlee, Churchill, Eden,
18:41Macmillan, Hume,
18:44Wilson, Heath,
18:46Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher...
18:51Ah! I can't remember anyone after Thatcher.
18:55This river must be more powerful than I imagined.
18:59MUSIC CONTINUES
19:04From Portugal's oldest town
19:07to its third biggest and oldest city,
19:1117 miles south-east of Ponte de Lima.
19:15This was the capital of a mighty Roman province.
19:19This is Braga.
19:21Or, to give it its Latin name,
19:24Cara Augusta was founded in 16 BC
19:28in honour of the Emperor Augustus.
19:31Five roads met here,
19:33and from this capital the Romans ruled over Hispania Galicia,
19:38a province that covered modern-day northern Portugal
19:41and Galicia in Spain.
19:44The Romans introduced Christianity to Portugal.
19:47They were forced to retreat in the 5th century,
19:50and for over 600 years Visigoths and then Muslims fought over it
19:55before it became part of the Christian kingdom of Spain.
19:59By 1143, when Afonso was declared Portugal's first king,
20:04Braga had become a major centre of Christian power
20:08on the Iberian Peninsula.
20:12With its multitude of churches and drawing on its ancient origins,
20:17this town is known rightly as the Rome of Portugal.
20:24Today, the city is visited by more than two million people every year.
20:29Many of them climb to the elegant shrine that overlooks it,
20:34the awe-inspiring Bom Jesus do Monte,
20:38where I'm meeting local historian Ana.
20:41What an extraordinary thing this is. I'm Michael, by the way.
20:44Ana, nice to meet you.
20:46What a stunning sight this staircase is.
20:50A feast for the senses.
20:52It was an idea of an archbishop that we had in the 18th century.
20:56This was already considered a sacred hill.
20:59There was this idea of penitence, sacrifice,
21:02to feel what Jesus felt during his passion, the passion of Jesus.
21:08Sacred mounts are associated with most religions around the world,
21:13offering a way to be closer to God and to heaven.
21:18Since the 1300s, a simple chapel had existed at the top of this one,
21:23but the archbishop had much bigger plans.
21:27He wanted to show off because it was a period of wealth,
21:30of power here in Portugal.
21:33If you pay attention here to the staircase,
21:36we have to be in this exact position so that we can see the Holy Grail,
21:40the cup, the vessel that was used by Jesus during Last Supper.
21:45That is remarkable.
21:50We still have 376 steps to the top.
21:54Past pilgrims insisted on making the climb even more daunting and mortifying.
22:00Can you imagine in the past people going up on their knees?
22:04On their knees?
22:06Nowadays it's not that often,
22:08but, well, in the past...
22:11I repent my sins. I repent.
22:17The knees are not really designed for stone, are they?
22:20It was fun at the time, but now I regret it.
22:23I think it's bad enough, yeah.
22:25Oh!
22:27Good job, Michael.
22:32As we ascend, water cascades downwards.
22:36Through a series of fountains that represent the five human senses,
22:41the first of which is sight.
22:44And I'm reminded of a song. I think it is, I'm going to cry me a river.
22:48Is the water flowing naturally from the hill?
22:50Yes, from the hill, from the hill.
22:52So give me some statistics. 573 steps.
22:55Exactly, till the Basilica.
22:57Then we have 19 chapels representing the stations of the Passion of Jesus.
23:01And we also have ten fountains.
23:03It is a work of art on a colossal scale.
23:05It is, it is.
23:08As we rise, we take in more fountains, statues and ornate chapels.
23:13And if all this man-made beauty isn't enough,
23:16you can always drink in the view.
23:20Well, fellow pilgrim, we're a little closer to paradise than we were.
23:23Yes, we are.
23:25I'm struck that in Portugal you have these huge symbols of religious devotion.
23:29Yes.
23:31This is a Catholic country. How devout is it today?
23:33Comparing with other countries in Europe,
23:35we notice that here people, not just old people, young people,
23:38they still like to respect all these rituals.
23:42This is like a family tradition.
23:44I remember when I was a child coming here with my family on Sundays
23:47to attend a mass and then, of course,
23:49we would also have the opportunity to go for a walk in the park.
23:52And if you have faith, a sight like this on this scale,
23:56so magnificent, so beautiful, very inspiring.
23:59Yes, definitely. It's really touching, yeah.
24:01Thank you for showing it to me.
24:04Coming up, I prepare for an evening out.
24:08Let's hope I'm not about to commit some hideous cultural gaffe.
24:13That's a fiery feast for the senses.
24:16That is a fantastic aroma.
24:19I'm blinded.
24:21And discover a most Portuguese delicacy.
24:25Weighs quite a lot.
24:28Doesn't smell.
24:41We're close by Portugal's birthplace,
24:44discovering its oldest city, Braga.
24:47It entices two million visitors each year,
24:50attracted by its rich history
24:52and to admire the spectacular Bom Jesus Shrine
24:55that dominates the skyline.
24:58From the top of its 573 steps, I head to the city below,
25:04as 19th-century pilgrims might have done by funicular railway.
25:11This is the most delightful funicular,
25:13and it has scarcely changed since it was inaugurated in 1882.
25:18This was the first funicular built in all of Spain and Portugal.
25:23The driving mechanism is the oldest of its type in the world.
25:28The simplest ideas are the best.
25:31This works on water power.
25:33So, water tumbling from the mountain...
25:38..fills up an enormous deposit,
25:403,500 litres underneath the funicular car,
25:44which makes it very heavy.
25:46So, this one will descend
25:48and it will be balanced by the one that's coming up,
25:50which will be lighter.
25:52The two cars move, passing each other halfway.
25:55When this car gets to the bottom, it empties its water
25:58and the other car will fill up again.
26:01It is entirely eco-friendly, carbon neutral.
26:07Tank full, we're ready to descend.
26:12Lushed with excitement, I'm off.
26:16Tonight, I've been invited to a traditional feast,
26:20cooked by a renowned local chef.
26:24On the hump for something to take to dinner,
26:27I've come to Braga's oldest grocery shop,
26:30with something very particular and very Portuguese in mind.
26:35Let's hope I'm not about to commit some hideous cultural gaffe.
26:45Bom dia. Bom dia.
26:47Tudo bom? Tudo bom.
26:49Michael. Manoel Machado.
26:51Such a beautiful, old, historic shop.
26:53Esta loja tem 130 anos.
26:57130 years old.
26:58E eu vou trabalhar aqui há 60 anos.
27:01Good heavens!
27:02You've been working 60 years here?
27:04Sim.
27:05From very baseball? Sim.
27:08Manuel's Emporium is packed with local wines and Portuguese foods,
27:14and what's served on the counter is the delicacy for which it is famed.
27:19I would like bacalhau, please.
27:23Salted cod.
27:24It's going to be a present.
27:26OK.
27:27Salt cod, or bacalhau, is considered Portugal's national dish,
27:32dating to the 14th century,
27:34when Portugal traded salt for cod with England.
27:38The preserved fish became a staple of Portuguese explorers
27:42and was enjoyed by the aristocracy for centuries
27:45before becoming widely loved in the 20th century.
27:49Today you'll find it on restaurant menus everywhere.
27:54So, let me see, let me see.
27:59It weighs quite a lot.
28:02It doesn't smell.
28:04I don't know. I don't know.
28:06What do you think?
28:08Maybe this one.
28:10So, will you cut this?
28:12OK.
28:13OK.
28:16It's a tough old cut, isn't it?
28:18To turn fresh cod into bacalhau,
28:21the fish is heavily salted and air-dried for several weeks
28:25until it becomes firm and light.
28:29Once preserved, it can keep for many months if stored properly.
28:36Marvellous. Marvellous.
28:38Marvellous.
28:41Four days soaking in water.
28:45Changing the water day and night.
28:49May I do that?
28:53Taking care to cut the cod and not the fingers.
28:57Oh, it's tough!
29:01Get to the sharp bit of the blade.
29:03And down we go.
29:05OK.
29:06And the cod is cut.
29:09Now, how do I take it?
29:12OK.
29:14I love the fact that, like some naughty secret,
29:17this salt cod is wrapped in plain brown paper.
29:21Don't bother me with roses. Don't bother me with chocolates.
29:24Don't bother me with a bottle of wine.
29:26All I want is some nice salt cod wrapped in brown paper.
29:31Muito obrigado.
29:37This evening's dinner is a few miles outside of town,
29:42where the terrain is lush and rolling,
29:45and vineyards and vegetables are plentiful.
29:48My host is a self-taught chef
29:51who initially divided his time between being a teacher
29:54but also running his restaurant.
29:56As the restaurant's reputation has grown, so have his ambitions for it.
30:02Annabella Renato. Nice to meet you. Thank you.
30:05I have brought you a little present.
30:08It's very fragrant. It is.
30:10Can you guess what it is?
30:12I think it's seafood.
30:14Maybe codfish? It is.
30:16Renato, will you be able to make use of that, do you think?
30:19Yes. I like it so much.
30:21The best product, always.
30:24Renato is known for taking rustic food of the region
30:28and turning it into fine dining.
30:32Every few weeks, he goes back to basics,
30:34cooking over an open fire with traditional cast-iron pots
30:39for guests and friends.
30:43What a wonderful way to eat and what a wonderful way to entertain.
30:48Well, tell me about these pots.
30:50These are ancient pots.
30:52Big one, maybe 200 years.
30:54How lovely.
30:56Hello, everyone. Hello.
30:58My name is Michael.
31:00Renato and Annabella are so generous
31:02that these parties happen often.
31:04It's like a family.
31:06We will be here for another event of the pots.
31:09So, you normally do it with the pots.
31:11Yes. The pots are so picturesque.
31:13It's typical from the Mingo region.
31:16Yeah.
31:18In every world, people recognise this Portuguese pot.
31:21Like a symbol of the nation.
31:23The Portuguese pots have three legs.
31:26Ah, yes. So they're self-supporting.
31:28Yes. Yes.
31:30Brilliant Portuguese technology.
31:32Absolutely brilliant.
31:37While Renato tends to the fire,
31:40Annabella and I head to the kitchen garden for more ingredients.
31:46This is such a beautiful garden.
31:50And these are extraordinary, these great big lemons.
31:52Yes. Let me pick one.
31:55Oh, my goodness.
31:58That's like something out of a laboratory.
32:02Excellent. We'll take it with us.
32:05On the menu tonight is caldo verde,
32:08a local green soup enjoyed throughout Portugal.
32:12Annabella, where are the cabbages?
32:14Well, they're here. They're huge.
32:16These? Yeah.
32:18Oh, my goodness. So, do we take the whole thing?
32:20No, we just take the leaves, the bigger ones.
32:22Sure. That's it.
32:24That's it.
32:27That smells wonderful.
32:29Yeah.
32:31Let's go back to the pots.
32:33OK. Let's go.
32:36Good cabbage. Good cabbage.
32:41Renato puts our ingredients to work over the fire.
32:45Ooh! It's smoky. It's hot.
32:47Yeah. You can see the cabbage, potatoes, chorizo, onion
32:52and some garlic and olive oil smell.
32:56Look. Oh, it's boiling away.
32:58Look, look, look.
33:00Yeah, that is a fantastic aroma.
33:02I have to separate it from the wood smoke, but it's lovely.
33:05Ooh, let me give that a stir.
33:07Yes, of course. Please.
33:09Ooh, I'm blinded.
33:11Now I need remove the chorizo.
33:13Ah!
33:15Can I? Can I? Yes, you may.
33:17Look. Whoa!
33:19Look, look, look.
33:21Look at that broth. Yeah, yeah.
33:25I'm now so smoked that I could be on the menu myself,
33:29but it's all about ingredients.
33:33This is a tomato.
33:35But it is absolutely exquisite.
33:38I believe that if I were in a condemned cell
33:41and asked about my last meal on Earth,
33:44it would probably be a tomato from a Mediterranean country.
33:48The gastric juices are running wild.
33:55People, it's time to eat cabbage soup, caldo verde.
33:59It's time. Rejoice! Rejoice!
34:02The time has come!
34:06And now, as part of the tradition,
34:08the great chef will sit on his throne,
34:12well, actually, a rather modest kitchen chair,
34:15and will serve the crowd.
34:19The best soup of the world.
34:21The best soup of the world, that's a good claim.
34:23And a bit of olive oil.
34:26Good. Enjoy, Michael.
34:28Yeah. Lovely.
34:36Mmm. It's fantastic.
34:38It's full of flavour. It's lovely.
34:41What could be better than eating delicious food...
34:45Good wine.
34:47..in the open air, in the company of friends, the fire.
34:51Good people.
34:53And we haven't mentioned almost the most important thing,
34:56to be in Portugal. Hooray!
35:03Coming up, when invited to dance, I wobble.
35:07Do you want to join us?
35:11And I'm captivated by a divine interior.
35:15This is amazing, this heavenly light.
35:29Our time in Portugal's birthplace continues in Braga,
35:33once its Roman capital.
35:35The signs of history are written across the city.
35:40From the ruins of a 14th century archbishop's palace
35:45to the Roman graffiti
35:47found carved into the recycled stone of its cathedral.
35:52The great cathedral of Braga is certainly worth a visit.
35:56If you are a fan of Romanesque or Moorish, Gothic,
36:01Portuguese, Manuline, Baroque architecture, it's got the lot.
36:06So let's just assume that we've been inside,
36:08we've viewed its lofty interior,
36:10we've admired the history of ecclesiastical architecture. Done.
36:15Now, let's actually go to another church
36:18whose architecture defies description,
36:21except that it is contemporary and startling.
36:27Just outside the city centre, down a modest street,
36:32behind a selfie-facing door, lies a rather unassuming chapel.
36:38Hello! Hello, Michael.
36:40Are you Andre the Architect? Yes. Is this your church?
36:43I mean, forgive me saying it, it looks quite plain on the outside.
36:46Plain is true. But inside, something else?
36:48Totally different.
36:50Originally built in the 1940s,
36:53the traditional wooden Chapel of the Immaculate fell into disrepair.
36:58But under local architect Andre's bold vision and redesign,
37:03it's gone on to win an international prize
37:06for its originality and beauty.
37:10Andre, this is amazing.
37:12I feel as though I've walked into a ship.
37:15Our project is very silent and minimal.
37:18We're trying to not do so much.
37:20And this beautiful wooden structure that you've created here,
37:24is this typical of ecclesiastical architecture in Portugal?
37:28Yes, it is, because inside, it's always in wood.
37:32And we're trying to create this forest.
37:35So this is like a threshold, it's like a transition...
37:38Yeah. ..from the outside space into this one.
37:42Beyond the threshold, a sweeping vaulted ceiling,
37:46fashioned in concrete, hovers above the congregation.
37:51How does the concrete stay up? It has no columns.
37:55No columns. There's some support on top there, and it's a perfect arch.
37:59Geometry is a friend of the architect.
38:02And now there's one more thing that really draws my attention.
38:06This heavenly light.
38:09Beyond the pulpit hangs a slender length of marble,
38:13glowing from the light behind.
38:15We need this focal light point in the chapel.
38:18It's something you found in several churches in Portugal.
38:21We decided to do this hanging marble to create this light,
38:26very simple light, and with small variation during the day.
38:30It's all absolutely glorious.
38:33Thank you, Michael.
38:37Before I leave beautiful Braga, I've one more rendezvous.
38:42Every year, the city hosts Braga Romana,
38:45a festival in honour of its Roman heritage.
38:49I'm intrigued to meet two people who dance regularly at the festival.
38:54They've revived an art form that I would not have linked to the Romans.
39:01As soon as you arrive in lovely Braga, you discover that it's a Roman city.
39:06And so I wouldn't have been overly surprised
39:09to see a couple of centurions with plumed helmets,
39:12a senator hurrying to the forum, ladies in togas.
39:16But actually, what I see is a sight that's far more exotic
39:22and far less European.
39:25These flowing movements are often associated
39:28with the Middle East and women performers.
39:31But throughout Turkish and Egyptian history,
39:34men and boys developed techniques
39:36thought to be precursors to belly dancing.
39:47Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
39:50This is so surprising.
39:53This is so surprising to find this sort of dance in northern Portugal.
39:58I mean, this is what I think of as a belly dance.
40:01The Portuguese people and Portugal, from north to south,
40:05already had their Islamic influence and their Muslim influence.
40:10So it's natural that in our culture there is still part of that culture.
40:31This sort of dance was common,
40:33and these dances would have spread through the Roman Empire.
40:37Exactly.
40:38Presumably you have to develop these muscles to an exceptional extent,
40:42is that right?
40:43Yes.
40:44Let me see, let me see.
40:45That's extraordinary.
40:48How long does it take to develop the muscles to that degree?
40:52A lot of practice.
40:53A lot of practice.
40:54Personally, I think I took one year to make one wave.
40:57It takes time, it takes time.
40:59Great.
41:00Do you want to join us?
41:01No, you dance so beautifully, I would ruin everything.
41:30Through these valleys marched Roman legions,
41:33and the Romans were imperialists, colonisers, they were brutal,
41:37they practised capital punishment, they kept slaves,
41:41and yet they were immensely civilising.
41:44Look at that lovely bridge in Ponte de Lima with its beautiful arches.
41:51I was very excited to come here by the thought of Afonso,
41:56the first king of Portugal, that here Portugal was born.
42:00This is the cradle of the nation.
42:03And Portugal is such a remarkable place.
42:06It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain, but it is so much smaller.
42:10And yet its achievements were enormous,
42:13achievements which nowadays are rather out of fashion,
42:16like colonising much of the planet.
42:19Through a combination of extraordinary bravery and greed and brutality,
42:25this tiny nation has a place in history.
42:29It has had an impact on world affairs
42:32completely out of scale with its physical size.
42:41Next time, I journey south in search of the real Algarve.
42:46Every day I come down, I'm in love.
42:51Look at this.
42:55Those are femurs, and the decoration, skulls.
43:00Lovely changes of colour as the heat hits the metal.
43:04Look at that. Oh, that's a mouthful, isn't it?
43:07It is, indeed.
43:09A perfect day for setting sail.
43:13Join me on the Algarve.
43:25Transcription by ESO. Translation by —