Lilau Square

Lilau Square was in the frontier ridge between the western city and the Chinese
quarter that sprawled from here trough the beach formed by the Inner Harbor.
Example of this interaction in the ridge between the two cultures is the house
of the Mandarin (please see pag. 9 of this City Guide). Houses of this residential
area had kept the old charm of the traditional Portuguese houses.
Different colors help to break the monotony and similarity of the volumes and
shapes of the houses.
There are no balconies or arches, which are "imports" from other
regions of the Portuguese architecture in Asia, particularly from India.
Together with the popular architecture is apparent some Art Deco buildings
and the small red palace, like the one near the fountain.
Big trees contribute whit their shadow to the peace and tranquility of this
place. Dark granite cobblestones paved the road, a traditional urban pattern
of Macau that is disappearing.
A kiosk was had recently given support to this small "Lilau village"
inside the big metropolis of Macau, which becomes the most dense city in the
world?
Presently is apparent that this small quiet urban place is sleeping a long
siesta dreaming of her forgotten past with the family life and children running
near the drying clothes.
We still can listen the water falling from the Lilau fountain, murmuring stories
and legends of ancient times. Nostalgia is the only thing that had definitively
settled in this place. |