Lisbon - Rossio (Praça de Dom Pedro IV)

Of the numerous cafes and restaurants bordering the Praça de Dom Pedro IV, special mention must be made of the Cafe Nicola. This establishment, which dates from 1929, is known particularly for its association with the poet Manuel Maria Bocage (1765-1805). He was a regular customer of the old Cafe Nicola which stood here at the end of the 18th C. and which was a meeting place for artists who were active in both the literary and political fields. In the Cafe Nicola, Bocage improvised sonnets and satirical poems. In 1797 he was arrested, as his bohemian way of life and his emotional poetry were not to the liking of the state authorities. In the new Nicola a statue, a wall painting and printed sugar packets commemorate the celebrated customer.

The Dona Maria National Theater (or Teatro Nacional de Almeida Garrett) on the north side of the Rossio was built by the Italian Fortunato Lodi on the initiative of the author and temporary liberal politician Almeida Garrett, and is named after Queen Maria II, daughter of Pedro IV. The Palácio dos Estaus, a palace used by the Inquisitors to carry out their work, originally stood on this site. The foundation stone of the present Classical building was laid in 1842 and it was officially opened four years later. The interior was destroyed by fire in 1964 and not reopened until 1978, as this was seen as an opportunity to renovate completely the theater and equip it with modern technology.

The Classical facade dominates the north front of the Rossio. Two rows of windows are interspersed with Ionian pillars and surmounted with a row of semi circular windows. The busts of famous Portuguese poets have been incorporated above the 17 windows of the middle floor. Apollo and seven muses are depicted in the triangular tympanum above the six pillared portico. The original designs for it were by the Portuguese António Manuel da Fonseca, with the Italian Cesarino completing the work. Thalia and Melpomene, figures symbolizing Comedy and Tragedy, stand to the right and the left of the gable. Rising above all of this is Assis Rodrigues' statue of Gil Vicente, the forefather of Portuguese theater in the 16th C.

The Palácio da Independéncia is located close to the Rossio on the north side of the Largo de Sao Domingos and is known by two names. It was given its original name of Palácio de Almada in honor of its former owner, the Count of Almada. The building's foundation stone was laid in 1509 and some Manueline details from this time can still be detected in the inner courtyard, for example the door decorations. Two conical kitchen chimneys are reminiscent of the royal palace at Sintra.

The name Palácio da Independéncia (Independence Palace) recalls a curious event that occurred in 1640. Philipp II of Spain had occupied Portugal in 1580, a year later he was recognized as King of Portugal. The loss of some colonies and the intense pressure of taxes levied to finance the Spanish wars led about 80 years later to a conspiracy among several of the Portuguese nobility. On December 1, 1640 there ensued a successful rebellion, followed by the restoration of Portugal's independence. About 40 conspirators prepared for the action under the leadership of the Duke of Bragança in the grounds of this palace. The Duke, from whose grandmother the royal family descended, was crowned Joao IV, King of Portugal. From a neighboring monastery the nobles reached the palace garden from across part of the old 14th C. city wall and gathered there in a small, isolated pavilion. It has even been suggested that there was an underground path linking the garden with the Baixa along which people could pass unseen.

The Sociedade Histórica da Independéncia de Portugal has its seat in some of the rooms of the Palácio da Independéncia. This society has awarded itself the task of keeping alive the memory of the happenings of December 1, 1640 and the general consciousness of Portugal's national history. A museum is planned for the palace, which is to be equipped with the most modern technical equipment. The completely neglected garden, to which part of the old city wall still belongs today, is to be newly laid out, old tiles restored, the pavilion renovated and called the Sala dos Conjuradores (Room of the Conspirators). Apart from this, it is planned to open a specialist library and a restaurant offering typical national dishes.

Every year on December first official memorial events take place both in the Palácio da Independéncia and at the Praça dos Restauradores.

In 1870 the 23m/75ft tall marble pillar topped with a bronze statue of Pedro IV was set up in the middle of this extensive Praça de Dom Pedro IV. After 1807, when the royal family fled from Napoleonic troops, the son of King Joao VI stayed in Brazil. He remained there after his father returned to Lisbon and became in 1822 Pedro I, emperor of Brazil, which was henceforth an independent country. An international competition, in which 87 artists took part, was held to undertake the statue. The work was finally awarded to a sculptor and an architect from France. The four figures on the plinth symbolize Justice, Wisdom, Courage and Restraint - attributes ascribed to Pedro IV.

The original facade of Rossio Station, located on the northwest corner of the Rossio (actually on the Praça Dom Joao da Cámara), is most striking. The building is one of the few remaining typical examples of Neo Manueline architecture. Public buildings in this style are very rare in Portugal, it is more often seen in romanticized villas and palaces in private ownership.

The station was built to the plans of the architect J. Luis Monteiro in 1887, at a time therefore when imitation of past building styles was customary and when the architecture of the "Golden Age" was being recalled. Moorish and Gothic decorations are included as typical elements of the Manueline style. The stone cabling used as a dividing line and the window embellishments are particularly characteristic of this epoch.

A shopping center can be found behind the facade, with escalators leading to the station's booking hall and to the actual station concourse on the third floor. Trains on the popular suburban line to Sintra leave from here, first running through a 2.6km/1.5mi long tunnel passing under Bairro Alto and Amoreiras and only emerging into daylight at Campolide to the northeast of the aqueduct.

In his novel "Felix Krull" Thomas Mann had the confidence trickster Krull, traveling from Paris, alight from a train at Rossio station - in fact this was the original station for international train connections.

The small Largo de Sao Domingos, on which a church of the same name stands, lies at the northeast corner of the Rossio. In the 13th C. a Dominican monastery was founded on this site but was completely destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. The portal of the original chapel was incorporated into the reconstruction of the Dominican church, built to plans by the architect Carlos Mardel. The facade and the chancel are the work of Ludovice, the architect of the monastery palace at Mafra. In 1959 the interior was almost completely destroyed by fire, the damage can still be clearly seen today. The single aisled bare church interior, which was originally richly decorated with talha, now appears almost bizarre. The eight side chapels have been temporarily furnished with statues of saints. Despite its somewhat morbid appearance the church is popular with the people of Lisbon.

The narrow Tabacaria Mónaco dates from 1894. The beautiful tiles next to the entrance are the work of the well known artist Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, whose ceramic work can be seen in the museum named after him on the Campo Grande. It is worth taking a look inside: the paintings by António Ramalho and the wood fittings by Frederico Augusto Ribeiro were part of the original furnishings. At the beginning of the 20th C. the Tabacaria Mónaco was a popular meeting place where Lisbon's latest news was exchanged.