3-021-662 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The River Douro at Oporto, from the gardens of the Exhibition Palace, 1865. 'The buildings and grounds [of the Portuguese International Exhibition] are situated on the summit of a steep rocky cliff, 300 ft. above the river, and command a view equally rich in historical associations and in romantic and picturesque beauty. To the left, the Serra Convent marks the spot where the famous passage of the Douro was made by the English troops, in 1809, opposite to which the "Rua do Wellesley" perpetuates the memory of the event. The panorama extends from this point, for about five miles along the river, to the Atlantic Ocean, embracing the city itself and a large extent of country around it, where the positions of the besieging army of 1832-3 may be seen. Within the grounds...a chapel...has been erected, by the Princess de Montlear, to the memory of her brother Charles Albert, King of Sardinia, who came to Oporto after the disastrous battle of Novara, and ended his days in a residence adjoining this spot'. From "Illustrated London News", 1865.