COLOURFULWORLD

Monday 18 July 2016

Monday Mural - Escadinhas São Cristóvão - Lisbon



This long and complex mural is located at Escadinhas de São Cristóvão, (Steps of St. Christopher) - a long set of steps from Rua da Madalena up to the 16th century Church of St Christopher, in Lisbons's Mouraria district, the home of "Fado" (Portuguese soul music).

The mural was created in 2012 by a group of artists and donated to the neighbourhood, and it honours the "Fado tradition" as well as St Christopher. 


Starting from the bottom, the mural begins on the left side, while the right side is covered with graffiti. Apparently the mural was painted over existing graffiti.






In this corner the mural is dedicated to Fado - on the left, a dark haired woman with a low cut top and fishnet stockings is Maria Severa as the yellow banner says. She is considered to be the first Fado singer to have achieved fame after her death in 1846.

On the right, two men play the guitar, the top one being the Portuguese guitar, behind them tiered buildings with St George's castle above them. The castle is not too far from this area. A black dressed woman looks out from a balcony. The world "Cheira bem, Cheira a LX (Lisboa),  are the words of a Fado song sung by Amalia Rodrigues, who died in 1999, considered to be the best selling Portuguese artist of all time.


The next wall is dedicated to St Christopher with the image of a priest.


The Church of St. Christopher can be seen just above to the left, and you have to climb another set of steps to reach it.

If you enjoy looking at murals from around the world follow this link.

18 comments:

  1. What is it about the coffin in the sea and an axe? The Fado is my favourite. A nice way to make climbing more fun.

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    1. It's apparently a reference to a Fado song about economic hardship and the fact that people soldier on regardless.

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  2. Decididamente tenho de ir ver estas escadinhas numa próxima ida a Lisboa. Gostei imenso.

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    1. Obrigada Sandra, vale a pena ver o mural. Fica a caminho do castelo tambem.

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  3. Gosh that's quite an endeavour Sami, must have been amazing to walk through here. More and more now projects like this with many artists are happening in Perth.

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    1. Thanks Grace, yes the mural had so much detail I spent ages looking at everything.

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  4. You could spend weeks looking at this set of murals. I was super impressed that you not only found them, you also managed to capture the spirit of the entire area. I guess it would be something for locals and tourists alike to enjoy, especially if you knew the symbolism and language. Thanks for sharing these.

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    1. Thanks Elizabeth, I would agree the mural is more symbolic to the Portuguese as it has a lot of clues only understood by them. Still, it's quite pretty for anyone to look at!

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  5. Dearest Sami,
    Wow, those are quite some murals and I had to laugh about the 'pink' cat...
    Sending you hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Thanks Mariette, glad you enjoyed the mural.

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  6. I prefer the murals much more than the graffiti.

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    1. So do I Marianne. Maybe one day the right side of the staircase will also get a mural.

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  7. Such a wonderful mix of images!

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  8. Those are great! And thank you for the explanation!

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  9. So beautiful. I like it that it goes around the walls, extended on different surfaces. I missed this spot when I was in Lisbon.

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    1. Well worth a visit Sara. Funny how we both missed seeing different things around the same area in Lisbon.

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