Kultura / Culture
Livraria Lello The magic of books at the heart of Porto One of the world’s most beautiful bookshops, with its intricate neo-gothic and art nouveau look, may or may not have served as the inspiration behind Harry Potter L ocated at the heart of Porto, this isn’t only the oldest and most famous bookshop in Portu- gal, but is also ranked as one of the three most beautiful anywhere in the world. Founded in 1906, it remains at its original address, at 144 Rua das Carmelitas. A truly magical place, it boasts a huge, ornate winding staircase, carved wood elements and a profusion of precious books. You will find it often claimed that this bookshop in- spired J.K. Rowling to write Harry Potter while she was living in Porto. The writer herself nonetheless denied this claim, explaining that she didn’t even know the book-
ter to J.K. Rowling, parts of which we bring you here... “On visiting Livraria Lello, tens of thousands of J. K. Rowling readers have also discovered the universe of Harry Potter and nobody may detract from that magical amazement. Having declared that when she lived in Por- to, she did not know about the existence of Livraria Le- llo... we would thank J.K. Rowling for her kindness and invite her to comply with this reciprocal desire… William Shakespeare never left England but located Romeo and Juliet in Verona, wrote The Merchant of Venice and in- stilled life into a Prince of Denmark by the name of Ham- let. His works produced characters so strong that they led Nietzsche to conclude that Emperor Julius Caesar would never have existed had Shakespeare not invented him centuries after his assassination in the Roman Senate. “While Tchaikovsky never got the chance to visit Porto, we know that J.K. Rowling listened to his music a great deal when living in our city. Therefore, it would not be excessive to conclude that Tchaikovsky, who we henceforth begin hearing in Livraria Lello at 5pm each evening, shall continue to inspire whoever dreams of Hogwarts on the famous bookstore staircase.” The owners of this stunningly beautiful bookshop thus suggest that you should definitely pay them a vis- it, regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of the fa- mous boy wizard. There is a five-euro entrance fee, but that will be refunded with a five-euro discount on any book purchase you make. A section of this establishment represents a library that preserves precious books, while the remaining area is a classic bookshop where you can buy whatever titles interest you. It’s also important to note that this place attracts huge crowds, while purchas- ing an online ticket allows you to enter without waiting. Despite the countless valuable books on offer here, you might actually enjoy the architecture itself the most, as hiding behind the artistic façade is a beautiful neo-Goth- ic interior, with a stained-glass ceiling, ornate wood pan- eling and an awesome winding staircase that runs the entire length of the bookshop. The design was entrusted to engineer Francisco Xavier Esteves, while the stained- glass frescoes were the responsibility of José Bielman. In addition to the stained-glass windows containing the monogram "Lello and Brother" and the owner’s motto Decus in Labore (Dignity in work), there are also plant motifs and geometric shapes. In a city that can boast of possessing many architec- turally impressive buildings, this Neo-Gothic gem is an outstanding example. The Art Nouveau elements of the façade are even more pronounced in the interior, while two bold bas-relief figures above the door represent art and science. The red staircase will certainly enchant you and compel you to shoot selfies, but don’t forget to buy a book as a souvenir. The majority of the books here are in Portuguese, though there are also some titles in Eng- lish, mostly in the fields of tourism and gastronomy. It is nonetheless worth checking out why it is dubbed the world’s third most beautiful library.
shop existed and that she was very sorry to have never visited it! That is indeed very unusual, given that the fa- mous staircase is eerily reminiscent of the one at Hog- warts, which has been noticed by millions of fans of Har- ry Potter who also come here to experience the magic. The owners of the bookshop haven’t proven immune to this general confusion either, having explained the situation on their website, in the form of an open let-
slušamo u Livrariji Lelo u 17 časova svake večeri, na- staviti da inspiriše one koji sanjaju Hogvorts na ste- peništu čuvene knjižare...“. Tako kažu u ovoj prelepoj biblioteci koju svakako treba posetiti bilo da jeste ili niste poklonik dečaka čarobnjaka. Ulaz se naplaćuje pet evra, ali će vam za toliko umanjiti cenu knjige koju budete kupili. Jedan deo biblioteke čuva dragocene knjige, a drugi je kla- sična knjižara u kojoj možete kupiti ono što vas zani- ma. Ne treba zaboraviti ni da su ogromne gužve kao i da vam onlajn karta omogućava ulazak bez čekanja. Ovde ćete, uprkos dragocenim knjigama, možda i najviše uživati u samoj arhitekturi, jer umetnička fasada skriva prekrasnu neogotičku unutrašnjost sa vitražnim plafonom, kitnjastim drvenim oblogama i zadivljujucim vijugavim stepeništem koje se prote- že duž cele knjižare. Za dizajn je bio zadužen Havi- jer Esteves, a za vitraž Hose Bijelman. Pored vitraža sa monogramom „Lello and Brother“ uz geslo vlasni- ka „Decus in labore“ („Čast u radu“), nalaze se biljni motivi i geometrijski oblici. U gradu koji se može pohvaliti mnogim zgrada- ma koje su arhitektonski impresivne, ovaj neogotič- ki biser je izuzetan. Art nuvo elementi na fasadi su još izraženiji u unutrašnjosti, a dve smele bareljefne figure iznad vrata predstavljaju umetnost i nauku. Crveno stepenište je ono što će vas sigurno očarati i naterati da pravite selfije, ali ne zaboravite da kupite neku knjigu kao uspomenu. Knjige su uglavnom na portugalskom, mada ima i onih na engleskom, pre- težno iz sfere turizma i gastronomije. U svakom slu- čaju, vredi proveriti zašto je nazivaju trećom najlep- šom bibliotekom na svetu.
Knjižara je najpoznatija po centralnom, drvenom
stepeništu, elegantnih oblina, ali i po prelepim vitražima
This bookshop is most renowned for its central, elegantly curved wooden staircase, but also for its beautiful stained-glass
54 | Knjige » Books
Books » Knjige | 55
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