Every week we at TraveltoLisbon will dive deep into the city archives to show you old Lisbon. How the city used to be, how the people used to be and much more!
This week we travel to Rossio. Rossio’s real name is King Pedro IV Square. It is located in the Pombaline Downtown of Lisbon and has been one of its main squares since the Middle Ages. It has been the setting of popular revolts and celebrations, bullfights and executions.
Column of Pedro IV
In the focal point of Rossio Square sits the Column of Pedro IV of Portugal, known as “the Soldier King”. At the base of the column are four female figures that speak to the King’s different characteristics: Justice, Wisdom, Strength and Moderation.
D. Maria II National Theater
The National Theater D. Maria II was established in 1842. It supplanted the old Estaus Palace, central command of the Portuguese Inquisition since mid-fifteenth century. On the Theater’s façade is a sculpture of Gil Vicente, a Portuguese writer and father of the nation’s theater.
Rossio Railway Station
On the left-hand side of the National Theater is the Rossio Railway Station, worked in 1887. Its façade is hitting with a strange passage. The trains to Sintra depart from this train station.
Café Nicola
Café Nicola is one of the most well known cafés in Lisbon. It has a wonderful craftsmanship deco façade and was opened more than 200 years back.
Photos range from 1848 to 1938. Source.
Photos from the archive of CML
By Ceinturion, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link