US-10114943

    Getting a card from a country as an official from a different one is not that unusual but getting a card from my own country as an official from another one is rare and a bit strange. Vicky sent me this card of Lello Bookstore in Porto. I love Porto and I've visited this bookstore 2 or 3 times, always with postcrossing friends. I've cards showing the beautiful façade, I didn't have any showing the interior.

 

© 2020 by Jeff Miller

US-10114943, sent by Vicky.

    Lonely Planet considered Lello & Irmão Bookstore as the third most beautiful library in the world. The store has an excellent neo-gothic façade, where you can see two figures painted by José Bielman, representing the Science and the Art. This facade is only surpassed by its stunning interior, designed by Xavier Esteves.

The building was inaugurated on January 13th, 1906, in an important social event for both Portuguese and Brazilian societies, attended by famous people from different spheres – among them Guerra Junqueiro, a renowned Portuguese writer.

As you walk through the doors of this bookstore you’ll notice that there is a marvelous stairway and the wooden walls are also very exquisite. The stained glass ceiling adds an amazing detail with Lello’s motto “vecus in labore”.

Rumor has it that J.K. Rowling’s inspiration to write Harry Potter has begun in Porto, particularly at this library. The well-known writer lived in Porto working while as an English teacher in the early 1990s and she used to drink a cup of coffee at the second floor of Lello’s bookstore. There are indeed great similarities between Lello’s bookstore staircase and the one described in Hogwarts. - in: https://www.localporto.com