This installment presents some of the surviving aesthetic treasures of Panjim. The man responsible for parlaying what was once a swamp into one of the world’s most beautiful cities was the Portuguese Viceroy D. Manoel Francisco de Portugal e Castro. It was during his tenure, 1827-1835, that the marshland was reclaimed and the city’s layout…
In this installment, we look at two of Panjim‘s legendary hotels. The 19th C Hotel Republica is among the city’s earliest hotels, and is located along Afonso Mexia Road in central Panjim, near the Old Secretariat building. W. Somerset Maugham stayed here in 1938 during his visit to Goa. If I recall correctly, the hotel…
Casa Dempo, built c. 1850, is located in the heart of Panjim. It was the first home of the Dempo family when they moved to Panjim. The Dempos are among the oldest of the Goan Saraswat Brahmin clans. Built in classic Goan style, the interior layout features traditional Goan Hindu elements such as a raj…
No visual symbol distinguishes Goa from the rest of India quite as tellingly as its capital city of Panjim, perched on the banks of River Mandovi. Panjim attained prominence in 1827 when the Portuguese transferred their capital from Old Goa. In 1843, it was elevated to a city, awarded upgrades befitting the capital of Estado…
Scroll down for historical details. From: Snapshots of Indo-Portuguese History – I – Pangim by Vasco Pinho, 2007, pp. 80-82. The Great Mandovi Disaster: 1901 For the people of Goa, the Twentieth Century began on a tragic note. A major disaster occurred on December 3, 1901, at 7:00 am. The motorized launch…
