Chiado, Lisbon

Chiado is the name given to the quarter west of the Baixa, located on the slope that forms the link between the lower and the upper parts of the city. The name is often also used to denote only the elegant shopping street, Rua Garrett, situated in the center of the quarter.

The poet and playwright António Ribeiro (c. 1520-91) gave the area its name.

Chiado Map

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Transit: Tram: 10, 20, 24, 28, 28B, 29, 30; Bus: 15.

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A contemporary of Luis Vaz de Camoes, he was originally a Franciscan monk but left his order and went to Lisbon where he became known as "Chiado". For a long time the Chiado quarter was considered to be the most elegant shopping area in Lisbon. Now shopping takes place mostly in streets such as the Avenida de Roma and the Rua Braancamp, and principally in the Amoreiras Shopping Center and the Baixa. However, some exclusive fashion shops with ranges reminiscent of Paris can be found in Chiado.

At the turn of the century and during the first decade of the 20th C. Chiado was the meeting place for writers and artists. Political and cultural exchanges constantly took place in the cafes here.

Chiado hit the world headlines when an enormous fire destroyed part of the quarter on August 25, 1988. The fire affected an area of "only" 2ha/ 5 acres but nevertheless the destruction seriously spoiled the character of the district. In the main it was the Rua do Carmo, a pedestrianized street, which was affected by the catastrophe. Together with homes and offices two old department stores burnt down, as well as the famous Pastelaria Ferrari and the valuable archives of the music shop Valentim do Carvalho containing unique documents relating to the history of Portuguese music.

After the fire the city council was mainly held to blame for allowing the construction of a pedestrianized street without access for fire engines, together with the totally inadequate safety precautions taken in the buildings. In a long drawnout discussion about the reconstruction of the destroyed quarter the main alternatives put forward were either to rebuild the area as close to the original as possible by using the remaining facades or to replace completely the remains with new, modern buildings. The project was finally awarded to Siza Vieira, an architect from Porto. It was decided to rebuild while retaining the original character as far as possible. It was hoped to complete the rebuilding within five years, but because of various legal and administrative problems this was not possible. Meanwhile the Rua do Carmo has regained some of its former splendor.

One blot on the landscape, however, is the former "Chiado" department store, which was to have been converted into a hotel until the supreme court intervened and put a stop to this proposal. The second department store which was burnt down, the "Grandella", will be rebuilt as a business center with restaurants, leisure facilities and an underground parking lot. More than anything, however, the rebuilding program will result in more living accommodation, as about a third of the total area is to be used for housing.

In order to improve ease of access to this quarter, which had become increasingly neglected for a number of years, it is currently being linked to the metro network.

The name of the Rua Garrett in the center of Chiado commemorates the writer Almeida Garrett (1799-1854), who was also temporarily active as a liberal politician.

Several old established shops are to be found in the street, some with very splendid interiors worth seeing.

Related Attractions

Livraria Bertrand

The famous "Livraria Bertrand" (no. 73) was founded by a Frenchman more than 200 years ago.

Paris em Lisboa

It is quite clear what the fashion shop "Paris em Lisboa" models its name on.

Igreja dos Mártires

Lying a little apart near to the blue tiled corner house Livraria Bertrand on the Rua Garrett stands the Igreja dos Mártires, which was constructed in 1769 as part of new building work carried out after the earthquake. The builder was Reinaldo Manuel.

The interior with its bright marble walls appears very balanced and harmonious. The painting of the barrel vaulted ceiling is the work of Pedro Alexandrino. Before the earthquake a small church of the same name stood in a different part of Chiado. It was founded by Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques, on the occasion of the conquest of Lisbon in 1147. A representation of this can be seen above the main portal of the new church.

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Largo do Chiado

The Largo do Chiado forms the upper western end of the Rua Garrett. The alternative name of the square, Largo das Duas Igrejas, refers to the two churches which face each other here. Originally a gate forming part of the city wall built by Fernando I in the 14th C. was located here.

A bronze memorial to the poet and playwright "Chiado" has been placed here. It depicts him as a derisive orator who does not completely believe in authority.

Igreja do Loreto

The Igreja do Loreto (1517), striking on account of its double flight of entrance steps, forms the northwestern corner of the Largo do Chiado leading to the Rua Misericórdia. It was destroyed by fire in 1651 and 100 years later destroyed again by the earthquake.

The architect of the opera house, J. da Costa e Silva, was responsible for the renovation and the rebuilding in 1784, when the original Mannerist facade was retained. The ceiling painting in the single aisled interior portraying the Santa do Loreto, the work of Pedro Alexandrino, is most striking.

A further name, Igreja dos Italianos, dates from the time when an apparently large Italian colony used the church as the center of their community. At the beginning of the 20th C. Sunday Mass here served as a meeting point for the upper classes.

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Igreja da Encarnaçao

The Igreja da Encarnaçao on the corner of Largo do Chiado was newly built in 1784 by M. Caetano de Sousa after its complete destruction by the earthquake.

Most impressive of all is the tiled western facade on the Rua do Alecrim, which appears huge in the relatively narrow street. The interior appears very dark. On the barrel vaulted ceiling, also painted by Pedro Alexandrino, preaching scenes are portrayed.

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Cafe A Brasileira

In 1922 the Cafe "A Brasileira" (The Brazilian Woman) established itself on the Largo do Chiado. The cafe developed from a shop selling coffee founded in 1905. A Brasileira became a famous meeting place for intellectual writers, journalists and artists.

A peculiarity of that time was that the owner allowed paintings to be hung in the cafe; these were portraits by the young Almada Negreiros, who thus achieved a much visited exhibition. In the meantime they have become museum pieces, having been replaced by the present pictures, and now hang in the Centro de Arte Moderna.

The course of time has altered the style of the cafe. In order to be able to cope with and take advantage of the summer influx of tourists the cafe has extended on to a platform on the pavement.

On the occasion of the 100th birthday of Fernando Pessoa a bronze memorial to the poet was placed outside the cafe; his regular cafe was, however, the Martinho da Arcada on the Praça do Comércio.

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Praça Luis de Camoes

In 1867 a memorial to the well known Portuguese poet Luis de was erected on the tree lined Praça de Luis de Camoes which borders the Largo do Chiado to the west.

Camoes was the creator of the "Lusiadas", a heroic epic which glorifies the Portuguese voyages of discovery and conquest. (A contrasting portrayal of these events is given in "Peregrinaçao", written by the author Fernao Mendes Pinto, which was censored for a long time.) Camoes, the date of whose death has become a Portuguese national holiday, is depicted with a sword and books - certainly a somewhat too bombastic portrayal of the poet, who reported for duty in the civil service because of personal difficulties and who died in poverty.

The 4m/13ft high bronze statue stands on an octagonal pedestal, around which are grouped eight important Portuguese scientists and authors.

Teatro de Sao Luis

The Teatro de Sao Luis in the Rua António Maria Cardosa (no. 54), a parallel road to the Rua do Alecrim, was built in 1916. A previous building dating from 1894 burnt down in 1914; the present building is a true reconstruction of the original. The interior of the theater is impressive because of its old fashioned charm; the artistic past of the house is impressively presented by way of the name boards and pictures on the walls of the staircase. Apart from theatrical productions, the theater also presents films, concerts, lectures and dance displays.

Policia Internacional da Defesa do Estado

In Rua António Maria Cardosa can be seen a building which was used as the headquarters of the secret police under the dictator Salazar and his successor Caetano.

The PIDE (Policia Internacional da Defesa do Estado) collected all possible putative evidence to use against inconvenient opponents of the regime of dictatorship. The arrangement of the building with individual cells for those arrested, bugging devices, instruments of torture, etc., was the result of discussions with the Gestapo. Growing foreign criticism of the rigorous methods of the state police led to the PIDE later being renamed as the DGS (Direcçao Geral de Segurança) without any changes to its methods.

On the day of the revolution, April 25, 1974, members of the DGS barricaded themselves into the building after Marcelo Caetano and the regime had already given up. They shot blindly into the crowd which had collected around the building; four people were killed and 45 injured. A memorial to the event and to the four who were shot dead was placed here four years after the event.

Academia das Belas Artes

Until 1969 the national library could be found on Largo da Academia das Belas Artes, then called Largo da Biblioteca Pública. A lift, which was constructed before Raoul Mesnier de Ponsard's Elevador do Carmo, once terminated here.

Academy of Art

The Lisbon Academy of Art is situated on the Largo da Academia das Belas Artes. The Academy of Art, like the Museu do Chiado, is housed in the rooms of a former Franciscan monastery.

Trinity

Further to the north of the Largo da Academia das Belas Artes, on the other side of the Rua Garrett, lies a small quarter known as Trinidade. The name commemorates the Trinidade monastery which used to be here. Of this monastery the former refectory survives and today houses the restaurant "Cervejaria da Trinidade", worth visiting for its tiled walls dating from 1863.

Teatro da Trinidade

Also remaining from 1863 are the later renovated Teatro da Trinidade and a house opposite the theater, impressive on account of its azulejo tiles.

Largo do Barao de Quintela

From the Largo do Chiado the Rua de Alecrim leads down to the Tagus. On the Largo do Barao de Quintela, which opens onto the street immediately to its west, a monument of questionable beauty was erected in memory of the poet Eça de Queiroås (1846-1900) three years after his death. The author of the famous social novels "Os Maias" and "Primo Basilio" looks into the eyes of the naked figure of a woman, which is apparently supposed to personify the "naked truth". The work is that of the then very fashionable sculptor Teixeira Lopes.

Fernando Pessoa Birthplace

On the fourth floor of the house opposite the Lisbon Opera House, Fernando Pessoa, the most famous 20th C. Portuguese author, was born. Some wall paintings recall Pessoa, of which drawings by the artist Almada Negreiros served as patterns - similar to those at the entrance to the university. To be seen is a portrait of Pessoa as well as the poet in his regular cafe Martinho da Arcada.

Chiado Museum

The Chiado Museum features works by Portuguese artists that date from 1850 to 1950 as well as French sculptures and a collection of drawings by Rodin.