Lisbon - City Museum Museu da Cidade

In 1739 Joao V had the Palácio Piomenta on the northern end of the Campo Grande built for his mistress, the nun Madre Paula from the Odivelas convent. In 1962 the city of Lisbon set up in this palace a museum in which the history of the development of the city is extensively documented.

On view are Roman excavation finds, historical paintings of the conquest of the Castelo de Sao Jorge by the Portuguese, old navigation charts, documents from the "Golden Age", architectural models and pieces saved from buildings after the earthquake (such as the "diamond stones" from the Casa dos Bicos.

Panoramic views of the city before the earthquake occupy a wide room, together with pictures of the earthquake itself and a collection of foreign reaction to the catastrophe. A large 1959 model of the city and its surroundings before 1755 is very interesting. Various plans for the reconstruction of the Baixa, drawings of old wells and of the Aqueduto das Águas Livres complete the exhibits.

It is also worth seeing the fully equipped kitchen of the old palace, some living rooms and lovely azulejo wall pictures.