Venice Is Jealous

There's more to Aveiro than just charming canals

By MARTHA DE LA CAL

From the Jun. 21, 2004 issue of TIME Europe magazine


Don't get caught calling Aveiro the Venice of Portugal just
because of the charming canals that crisscross the city. Residents
prefer to think of Venice as the Aveiro of Italy. Located on the
Ria de Aveiro, a 45-km-long saltwater lagoon mostly cut off from
the Atlantic by wide sand dunes and pine forests, the city (pop.
70,000) dates back at least to the 10th century.

The Moors held it until the 14th century, after which it became
popular with Portuguese royalty. In 1575 a terrible storm closed
the entrance to its port, ending a thriving trade in metals and
tiles. Aveiro went into decline over the following centuries. It
has now won back much of its prosperity through new industries
such as chemical manufacturing, ceramics and tourism; however, the
traditional ones — saltmaking, fishing, tilemaking — still thrive.
For visitors, the canals are the chief attraction. They are lined
with tile-fronted Art Nouveau-style houses and moliceiro boats
with high, pointed prows that curl up out of the water. Brightly
painted and gaily decorated, the boats were originally used for
dredging seaweed for fertilizer; now they are used mainly by
tourists.

There are moliceiro races on the Ria every July, August and
September, however, which lure back Aveiro natives from all over
the world. More leisurely hour-long moliceiro rides leave
regularly in summer from in front of the tourist office in the
town center. Larger excursion boats visit the nearby salt pans and
provide lunch. Those who prefer to travel on land can borrow free
bicycles from stands all over the town, courtesy of City Hall.