Robaina's

Robaina's
Robaina's plantation

Tuesday 21 March 2017

Porticos of Havana

                 According to Wikipedia; A portico (from Italian) is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. The city of Bologna in Italy is famous for it's Porticos and houses the world's longest, the Portico di San Luca, at almost 4km with 666 arches. It's also the city with the most Porticos with 45km worth. I couldn't find a list showing me where Havana stands in that department but although it's not quite that high, it still contains a noticeable amount if you stop a moment to take notice. I spend a pretty good amount of time in Old Havana and from my experience, between the old part of the city edging into Centro Habana, you'll find a considerable amount of covered walkways....to the point that if it should ever begin to rain you're just steps away from cover. Besides being able to duck into a museum, shop or gallery during a rainfall, you may also get lucky and find a bar or restaurant with tables under the portico of what used to be someone's mansion centuries ago. Not all the porticos belong (or belonged) to nobility, many are attached to ordinary homes or what might of been middle class at one time. Regardless, it's one of the things that adds character to a city I love so much.




































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