Lisbon
Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and one of the oldest in Western Europe, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris, and Rome by centuries. Julius Caesar made it a municipium called "Felicitas Julia", adding to the name "Olissipo". Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, it was captured by the Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbon's status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as "de facto" capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal.
Lusitanian Basin
The Lusitanian Basin is located on both mainland and continental shelf of the west-central coast of Portugal. It covers a 20,000 km area and extends from south of Lisbon, the capitol of Portugal, to Porto. This north-south oriented Atlantic margin rift basin is approximately 130 km wide and 340 km long and belongs to a family of periatlantic basins such as the Jeanne d'Arc Basin. To the east of the Lusitanian Basin lies the Central Plateau of the Iberian Peninsula and a marginal horst system lies to the west. The Alentejo and Algarve Basins connect to the southern end of the Lusitanian Basin. In the north, it is connected to both the Porto and Galicia Basins via a basement ridge.