Wandering Around Macau

Macau, a peninsula stretching 5 km from the Chinese border, is far from the frenetic life of Hong Kong, from its pace of life and its economic development... and yet it is beautiful, placid, one of the main tourist destinations, hosting as many as ten million visitors a year, many of them from Hong Kong and in search of fortune in the numerous casinos scattered around the place.

In Macau you breathe strongly the atmosphere of the old Portuguese rule; a typically Mediterranean, relaxed air blows everywhere, and it is strange and beautiful to notice this perfect blend of West and East. (Photo 1)

The cobbled, winding streets, the mild temperature, the flavours and smells of the cuisine make walking its streets a delight.

Getting to Macau from Hong Kong is very simple: comfortable, fast hydrofoils leave the Macau Ferry Terminal continuously and reach the destination in an hour.

As soon as you arrive at the port you can take a taxi or a bus (they pass constantly) that takes you right into the centre, into the heart of Macau, to the oldest, most ancient area, which is also the most beautiful. (Photo 2)

Once there, the first thing that strikes you is Largo do Senado, one of the oldest and most characteristic squares in Asia, paved with broad black stripes and graced by a bubbling fountain in the middle. (Photo 3)

The square is surrounded by colonial and Baroque buildings in pastel and warm tones; one of the finest is the Leal Senado, with its green-shuttered windows and light façade, flanked by a stone staircase leading to a garden, the library and the Senate chamber.

Standing out for its white façade, among the bright colours of the other buildings, is the Santa Casa da Misericórdia, one of the oldest missions in these parts. (Photo 4)

If you keep walking you can reach the Igreja de São Domingos, a typical Portuguese colonial church in Baroque style with a yellow façade, beautiful inside too, with an imposing cream-coloured central altar. (Photo 5)

It's lovely to walk these streets, always busy with people, tourists and students, laughing and strolling, in search of and discovering the flavours of this beautiful peninsula.

Here too there are numerous stalls selling sweets and street food, especially near monuments and tourist spots packed with people, but there are also nice shops and well-known brands... Hong Kong's bustle is far away, but economic development has arrived here too.

Near the Church of San Domenico and the museum that stands alongside it, you can head towards the monument that represents Macau, the Ruínas de São Paulo, taking Rua da Palha, a characteristic street made up of typically Chinese houses and buildings, with old wooden windows and small, narrow balconies, a gift from a past still present.

Opening up at the top of a staircase is the view of the symbol of this peninsula... the ruins of an ancient church... the Church of Saint Paul. (Photo 6)

Only the marvellous stone façade remains of the Christian church, dating back to the early 1600s and built by the Jesuits; it must have been splendid, an exceptional monument of Christian art.

The façade is divided into tiers and richly decorated with statues and sculptures. At the top, in the triangular section of the summit, there is a bronze dove; below, inside a niche, the statue of the Infant Jesus. In the niche below, the great statue of Mary.

Looking carefully at everything you understand why, when the church was completed in ancient times, it was hailed as one of the most important Christian monuments in all of Asia.

The proof is the curiosity these ruins still arouse today, undoubtedly fascinating.

Simona Salini

INTERESTING FACTS:

* To reach Macau from Hong Kong you can use two ferry companies that guarantee excellent service with frequent departures and 24-hour connections

* The ferry terminal is connected to the city centre by two urban bus lines, the 3 and the 3X. The 3 continues to the border with the mainland

* Anyone going to Macau from Hong Kong, even just for a day, must remember their passport, because it is always requested on arrival