Rossio Square

Rossio has been the centre of Lisbon for six hundred years - market, bullring, carnival ground, and the place where the Inquisition held its autos-da-fé, with the Palace of the Inquisition standing where the national theatre is now. The square was rebuilt on the Pombaline grid after 1755, and in 1848 it was paved in calçada portuguesa, the black basalt and white limestone cobbling, in a wave pattern called mar largo; it was the first large-scale use of the technique and it spread from here across the Portuguese world, including to Copacabana. The waves are said to make some people dizzy, which is repeated often enough to have become part of the square's identity. Two bronze fountains brought from France and a column carrying Pedro IV, raised in 1874, stand on it, the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II closes the north side, and the Rossio station's neo-Manueline front is around the corner.

History

Rossio, roughly "commons", became one of Lisbon's main squares as the city spread down from the castle hill in the 13th and 14th centuries. Around 1450 the Palace of Estaus was built on its north side, later the seat of the Inquisition, whose first auto-da-fé here was held in 1540, and the All-Saints Royal Hospital, ordered by John II in 1492 and finished in 1504, filled its east side. After the 1755 earthquake Eugénio dos Santos and Carlos Mardel rebuilt it, in the 19th century it was paved in Portuguese mosaic and given bronze fountains from France, and the column of Pedro IV went up in 1874 (Wikipedia, Rossio).

What's there

• The wave paving - the 1848 mar largo pattern in black and white cobbles.
• The theatre - the D. Maria II national theatre on the site of the Inquisition palace.
• The column - Pedro IV on a pillar between two bronze fountains from France.
• The station - Rossio's neo-Manueline horseshoe entrance around the corner.

When to go

Year-round. Thirty to sixty minutes. Evenings are busiest; early morning is the only time it is quiet.

Practical notes

Very crowded and one of the main pickpocketing areas in Lisbon. The cobbles are slippery when wet and hard on ankles. Café terraces on the square charge tourist prices. Persistent street selling.

Nearby

Praça da Figueira is adjacent; the Baixa runs south to Praça do Comércio.

Key facts