The Cultural Centre of Belém (Portuguese: Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB)), located in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém (in the municipality of Lisbon), is the largest building with cultural facilities in Portugal. The CCB's 140,000 m² spaces was initially built to accommodate the European Presidency, but adapted to provide spaces for conferences, exhibitions and artistic venues (such as opera, ballet and symphony concerts), in addition to political and research congresses, high security meeting halls, and a 7,000 m² exhibition area.

History

The decision to construct the Cultural Centre of Belém occurred in January 1988, as part of the Portuguese government's need to construct a building to welcome and accommodate the people involved in Portugal's European Union Presidency (in 1992). The facility would also serve as a core facility for cultural and leisure activities after its term, and serve as a venue for conferences and exhibitions.

An international architectural competition was held and six proposals were invited to submit a preliminary project, out of the 57 submissions. The final proposal, submitted by the architectural consortium of Vittorio Gregotti (Italy) and Atelier Risco at the time led by Manuel Salgado (Portugal), was designed to include five modules: a Conference Centre, a Performing Arts Centre, an Exhibition Centre, Hotel and complementary equipment zone, but only the Conference Centre, the Performing Arts Centre and the Exhibition Centre were initially constructed.

A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run.

Asia

Europe

Belém (Portuguese pronunciation: [beˈlẽj]), literally Portuguese for Bethlehem, is a Brazilian municipality, the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the country's north. It is the gateway to the River Amazon with a busy port, airport, and bus/coach station. Belém lies approximately 100 km upriver from the Atlantic Ocean, on the Pará River, which is part of the greater Amazon River system, separated from the larger part of the Amazon delta by Ilha de Marajó (Marajo Island). With an estimated population of 1,439,561 people — or 2,249,405, considering its metropolitan area — it is the 11th most populous city in Brazil, as well as the 16th by economic relevance. It is the second largest in the North Region, second only to Manaus, in the state of Amazonas,

Founded in 1616 by the Kingdom of Portugal, Belém was the first European colony on the Amazon but did not become part of Brazil until 1775. The newer part of the city has modern buildings and skyscrapers. The colonial portion retains the charm of tree-filled squares, churches and traditional blue tiles. The city has a rich history and architecture from colonial times. Recently it witnessed a skyscraper boom.

Belém is a station on Line 3 (Red) of the São Paulo Metro.

SPTrans Lines

The following SPTrans bus lines can be accessed. Passengers may use a Bilhete Único card for transfer:

References

Belém (the Portuguese word for Bethlehem), is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Pará.

Belem or Belém may also refer to:

See also