European Capital of Culture 2012 – Guimaraes
Guimaraes the European Capital of Culture 2012 – The city to be seen in!
Culture, heritage, architecture and art have always played an important role in the historical and picturesque Northern Portuguese town of Guimaraes.
As the Vintage Travel blog pointed out on our blog last year, having been named the official 2012 European Capital of Culture, there has never been quite a better time to visit the ancient city of Guimaraes than this year.
Focusing on four central themes – Thought, Art, Community and City, Guimaraes is currently hosting an extensive cultural program, bringing a flood of music, dance, theatre, art, architecture, music, cinema, street art and photography to the city’s engaging streets.
Referred to by many as the “birthplace of the Portuguese nation”, just one question remains unanswered: Why has it taken until 2012 for Guimaraes, with its distinctive UNESCO-classified tenth century castle, its deluge of incredible architecture from the 15th century onwards, and the entrepreneurialism and dynamism spawning from its inhabitants, to be named a European cultural capital?
Not many cities blend tradition and innovation, convention and avant-gardism quite as seamlessly as Guimaraes, where diverge experiences await the city’s early-anticipating visitors.
According to the Guimaraes president, Joao Serra, who is directing this year’s cultural activities in Guimaraes, some 1.5 million tourists are expected to visit this fascinating Portuguese city this year.
Exploiting a 25 million Euro budget, the European Capital of Culture 2012 initiative aims to encapsulate and intensify the richness and diversity of this unique and tremendous northern Portuguese city.
The emphasis on the arts, the sophistication and the cosmopolitanism of Guimaraes is not just highlighted by the fact it was chosen to be this year’s European City of Culture, but also by the fact that this densely populated city, of more than 160,000 inhabitants, is a throng of young people, with 50% of its residents being under the age of 30, meaning Guimaraes has one of the youngest populations in Europe!
From photographic missions designed to reflect upon Guimaraes transgenic landscapes, to ‘wandering marches’ consisting of music, plastic and visual arts, handicraft and theatre performances, within a logic of ‘wandering; and of cultural animation of the Guimaraes territory, this Portuguese city is certainly the city to be seen in during 2012!