Portuguese Squares - Commerce Square, Lisbon

By portugal | portugal | 16 Dec 2019

It is one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, open south to the immense Tagus estuary. Until the era of air transport, it was the great reception room of Lisbon for those who came by boat and could thus enjoy its beauty even better. Here was the quay where the Kings and Heads of State who visited Portugal landed.

Before the 1755 earthquake it was named Terreiro do Paço. The Royal Palace had occupied the western wing of the square since the beginning of the century. XVI, when D. Manuel transferred him from São Jorge Castle to this place.

In 1580, Filipe I of Portugal had a new Palace erected, with the risk of Filippo Terzi and Juan Herrera. Everything was destroyed by the earthquake. The name of Praça do Comércio belongs to Pombal time and reflects a new social order that the Minister of D.José I wanted to privilege and value: the commercial, financial and bourgeois class that contributed so much to the reconstruction of his city.

In the geometric center of the square, facing the river, is the equestrian statue of D.José I, mounted on his gentle horse, the work of sculptor Machado de Castro. It was placed in this place, with great pomp, on June 6, 1775, the day of the Kings years, who quietly watched the act of one of the windows of the Customs building. The parties lasted three days and included a gigantic banquet for all the people of Lisbon. On the river-side pedestal, the effigy of Pombal is topped by the royal shield.

The sculptural groups on either side of the pedestal represent Triumph leading a horse and Fame leading an elephant in clear allusion to Portuguese overseas domains. At the back of the pedestal, an allegorical bas-relief represents the various contributions to the reconstruction of Lisbon.

Under the north arcades, near the entrance of Rua do Ouro (Street of Gold), be sure to enter the Martinho da Arcada coffe-restaurant, a landmark of the city and one of its places of worship.