Lisbon Blog

The poet of the heteronyms, the critical poet, the dark poet, the poet of the thousand faces, the Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa, is the protagonist of a story dedicated to art and artistic creation. His legacy is so important that even today they discuss his writings, discovering new aspects of his poetry in each of his heteronyms, characters created with the aim of accompanying himself, giving life to “true spiritual partners”, like he used to say himself in many of his writings.

Fernando Pessoa, or Fernando Antonio Nogueira Pessoa, as he was baptized by his parents, was born in Lisbon on June 13th 1888. His childhood was spent in a house with his parents and his grandmother, who suffered mental problems, as well as two maids. Pessoa�s childhood suffered a drastic change due to the premature death of his father, who left his family in a difficult situation for some time. This hard period of his childhood brought his first heteronym, who dedicated sweet writings to his mother.

After a few years, his situation changed due to the second wedding of his mother, which took him to live in South Africa for many years. Here is where he studied and familiarized himself with the English-speaking writers who influenced him, as well as starting to dedicate himself to translating texts and completing his studies. When he was 18 years old, he decided to return to Lisbon with his grandmother, and it�s since this time that young Pessoa began his extensive literary production, which didn�t stop until the last minute of his life.

A restless intellect, he created a large amount of heteronyms, among which the most famous ones are Alberto Caeiro, Bernardo Soares, Ricard Reis and the homosexual engineer Álvaro de Campos, with whom he published his best poetic works, parallel to the life that he led as an essayist and critic. All of his works can be seen, as well as important fragments of his life and personal items of great value, in the house-museum that bears his name. 

The Fernando Pessoa House is located on Rua Coelho da Rocha 16, and was inaugurated by the City Council of Lisbon in 1993, with the aim of preserving and showing the world the wealth, a world legacy, of this Portuguese writers� work. In the three floors that make up the house, where Pessoa only lived in one, sharing the rest with other families of the time, they show a route through the life of the poet. The house is filled up with poems of Pessoa that bring context to different eras. It has a complete library and rooms where poetry talks, lectures and recitals are given among other cultural activities.

I suggest that you don�t miss out on this special place if you travel to Lisbon, because it�s a beautiful way of connecting with the writer and imagining his life, as well as being able to calmly sit down in the library and read his works. An unforgettable experience!  

For more information, visit: http://casafernandopessoa.cm-lisboa.pt/index.php?id=2258

Luz Obscura

A few holiday days are never complete without an important cultural activity, no matter where we go. Rent apartments in Lisbon and don�t miss out on the Fernando Pessoa House, a magical place filled with poetry that you�ll never forget.

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