Car Hire Portugal Spain Sources of Car Hire Portugal Spain resources from the Web

Portuguese art was very restricted in the early years of nationality, during the reconquista, to a few paintings in churches, convents and palaces. It is after the 15th century, with the national borders established and with the discoveries, that the Portuguese art expanded. Some kings, like John of Portugal John I, already had royal paintors. It is during this century that the Gothic art is replaced by a more humanistic and Italian-like art.

With the 1975-76 independence of its colonies (except Macau, because it hadn't any independentist movement), the 560 year old Portuguese Empire had already effectively ended. With it, 15 years of war effort also came to an end. Also many Portuguese returned from the colonies, coming to comprise a sizeable sector of the population and starting an economic recovery, thus opening new paths for the country's future just as others closed. In 1986, Portugal entered the European Union.

During the second semester of 2004, a coalition between the PSD (main party) and PP governed Portugal in the 16th constitutional government, led by Pedro Santana Lopes, substituting José Manuel Durão Barroso. Barroso resigned to become President of the European Commission. After dissolution of the Assembly by President Jorge Sampaio, this coalition lost the election on Feb 20, 2005. The victory of José Sócrates, the leader of the PS, is complete with no less than 121 MPs - an unprecendented absolute majority for the PS.

The south down as far as the Algarve features mostly rolling plains with a climate somewhat warmer and drier than the cooler and rainier north. Other major rivers include the Douro, the Minho and the Guadiana, similar to the Tagus in that all originate in Spain. Another important river, the Mondego, originates in the Serra da Estrela (the highest mountains in mainland Portugal - 1,991 m).

Portugal is very well represented in sports such has Rink hockey, being the country with most world titles. Golf is also worth mentioning, since its greatest players play in the sunny region of the Algarve during the "Algarve Open".