Lisbon boasts of being the westernmost capital of Europe with the largest river at its feet - the Tejo Legend says it was named for the Greek hero Ulysses and was called Ulisseia or Ulissipo. Some historians say that the Phoenicians founded it and called it Porto Sereno. What is fact is that Lisbon has always been inhabited by various people. The locale had excellent living conditions. It is located on the north bank of the Tejo river and is built on 7 hills. The hill of the Castle of São Jorge was the first to be populated by merchants and mariners. Then came the Phoenicians and after them the Greeks who built the new Greek Olisipo open to the sea. The Romans arrived in the 2nd century BCE. There are still Roman vestiges on the hillside and underground. Lisbon declined with the arrival of the Barbarians in the 4th century. It began to prosper under the Visigoths and the 4 centuries of Moorish rule. They too left important vestiges mainly the Castle of São Jorge and one of the typical neighbourhoods of Lisbon - Mouraria.
King Afonso Henriques conquered the city in 1147. Many Christians died in the attempt and Martim Moniz became renowned.
The Court transferred to Lisbon in the 13th century and made it the capital. Maritime commerce never stopped and Lisbon became an important and strategic centre in contact with the rest of the world. Its apogee was during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries when the sailing ships left for Africa, India and Brazil. Famous monuments were built as the Tower of Belém and the Monastery of Jerónimos. Also palaces and convents. The centre of town moved from the hill to downtown Terreiro do Paço. All the gold from Brazil could not save the city from the catastrophic earthquake of 1755; which left it in ruins. The Marquis of Pombal rebuilt the downtown area, Baixa. Fado (folk song) grew with Lisbon and today can still be heard in Fado Houses in Bairro Alto and Alfama.
Lisbon is a cosmopolitan city retaining some of its old and lovely narrow streets with steps and clothes hanging out of windows. The sidewalks have black and white mosaics with maritime motifs. There are many lookout points with views of the river. There are museums and monuments, that relive the past.
