CHANGE AND CONTINUITY: THE ROLE OF BREAD IN THE TERRITORIAL AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF LISBON

Description

Bread has long been a fundamental daily food for human communities worldwide, rich with symbolic meanings and significance woven into the simple recipe of ground grain, water, and fire. At a time when bread is undergoing a phase of reinvention and revival of traditional practices, this presentation proposes a look back to the moment of industrialization of bread production. We use the practical example of the current city of Amadora, both as a specific case of the evolution of bread production and consumption practices through the 19th and 20th centuries and in its relationship with the capital, Lisbon.
Although wheat fields were still part of the landscape around Lisbon just a few decades ago, and by the late 19th century several hundred windmills dotted the city, today much of this memory has largely faded. However, industrial archaeology has allowed for the recovery and study of infrastructures that are part of the history of the transition from traditional, wind-driven milling to industrial factory milling. This shift rendered these mills obsolete and led to their abandonment while transforming the networks of supply and consumption, as well as personal identities and domestic practices, now being recovered.

Period	7 Mar 2025
Event title	Our Food-Webbed World: Interdisciplinary Culinary Landscapes
Event type	Conference
Location	Lisboa, PortugalShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International