An air of renewal and regeneration now permeates. Like much of Europe, Portugal is today licking its wounds from tumultuous politics, economic austerity and runaway globalisation. Meanwhile, industrialisation modernised and overhauled the old leather tanning industry: new technology trumped artisan techniques, as quality took a back seat to productivity. Empire became Republic years of violent revolution and instability decades of harsh dictatorship under Salazar a long return to Democracy. In the last century, a lot changed for Portugal – and its leather heritage. It was also home to one of the oldest and most revered artisan leather industries on the planet. This was the birthplace of the Age of Discovery: a stomping ground of great seafarers and conquistadors, a dynamic hub of global trade and innovation. Yet not too long ago, the Iberian Peninsula was the centre of the world, home to the first, longest and arguably most influential empire in modern times. In the pantheon of European destinations, Portugal is easy to overlook. Watching Anthony Bourdain’s jaunt through Lisbon on repeat only exacerbated my full body salivation. I kept hearing amazing things about this country: sun and surf, delectable seafood, great wine, friendly people. In the worst of the dirge and the frost of a long, bleak Berlin winter, Portugal was the vapour-lined mirage on the horizon of my vitamin-D deficient, landlocked mind.
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