The small Chiado district to the west of central Lisbon is historically famous for being the meeting place of Portugal’s intellects, writers and radicals. The recent history of Chiado has been dominated by the painstaking reconstruction of the area after a huge fire ripped through the entire district. The building project has faithfully recreated much of the 18th century architecture and also restored the charm of the area. Chiado is popular with tourists who enjoy the artistic atmosphere, the varied sights and the great specialist shopping. Chiado extends over one of the highest hills of Lisbon and has notoriously steep streets but luckily there are many coffee shops perfectly situated for exhausted tourists.

Here is a list of the popular tourist activities in the Chiado district of Lisbon.

• Viewing the skeleton remains of the Igreja de Carmo destroyed in the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.
• Riding the Elevador de Santa Justa, an iron work masterpiece, from the lower streets of Baixa.
• Having a photo sat next to the statue of Fernando Pessoa.
• Discovering truly unique shops on the Rua Garrett.
• Drinking a coffee (Bica) at the Café A Brasileira the meeting place of Portugal’s intellectuals
• Watching a show at the royal Theatre, Teatro Nacional São Carlos

Chiado is named after the poet António Ribeiro (1520-1591) who originated in Evora but spent much of writing life in Lisbon, so much so ,that the district was named after his nickname, Squeak. The Portuguese word for squeak is Chio and the area was “Squeak’s Area” therefore Chiado. A bronze statue of Squeak, in an active pose, stands in the centre of Largo de Chiado which was commissioned in 1925.

 

Chiado is well-liked by tourist as it is one of the main shopping districts of Lisbon, with a unique blend of large multinational chains and traditional family run shops. This mixture is in part due to the protection of rent prices allowing families business to compete fairly with the larger stores. Some of the shops have been owned by the same families for generations, examples include "Bertrand Bookshop" which started trading in 1747 and "Paris em Lisboa" which opened 1888. Portuguese tend to think of Chiado as the theatre district of the capital as the royal theatre, the Teatro Nacional São Carlos, was constructed here in 1793 and attracted other theatres to be built within the area.

Chiado covers one of the steepest hills of Lisbon and in the heat of the day can be very tiring climbing from Baixa (Low) to Barrio Alto (High Area) through Chiado. Luckily the metro station Baixa-Chiado was constructed at the top of the hill and underground escalators transport visitors to the top of the hill. Both of the two main shopping streets Rua Carmo and Rua Garrett have very steep inclines and cobbled surfaces.

 

On the 25th of August 1988 an electrical fault in one of the shops caused a massive fire which ravaged the entire district; destroying 18 buildings, killing 2 and severely injuring 73. The extent of the damage resulted in 300 people losing their homes and the loss of several historical and important buildings. The fire is consider the second worst disaster to strike Lisbon, the first being the 1755 earthquake. The re-construction project spanned 10 years and recreated the damaged buildings as close to their original designs as feasibly possible, which is a blessing considering the monstrosities built during the 80’s as seen in the financial district of Lisbon.

The area of Chiado, since the conquest of Afonso I and the introduction of Christianity, has been regarded within the city’s boundaries. The importance of the district was confirmed with the construction of the capital’s defensive walls in 1375 which incorporate Chiado. The main westerly gate, Portas de Santa Catarina was actually on the site of the Largo de Chiado with the area of Barrio Alto outside the protection of the walls. As Lisbon continued to expand and the threat from invasion ebbed the importance of the city walls and gate diminished and were final removed in the early 18th century.

The 1755 earthquake and resulting fires ravaged the Chiado district, as with the rest of Lisbon, but the area was spared the flooding caused by the tsunami. The reconstruction of Chiado was under the guidance of the Marquis of Pombal but his main vision was for the Baixa district. Chiado was constructed following the same design and style but the grandeur was limited, the main exception was the Igreja de Carmo which was left as a skeleton ruin to remind Lisbon’s residents of the horrors they faced during the earthquake. The churches which had burnt during the earth quake were reconstructed in the Rococo-Baroque style and unobtrusively blended into the entire architectural design of the Chiado district.

 

Chiado’s golden era came about after the construction of the royal theatre, many were surprised by the royal’s choice that Baixa or Belém had not been selected. The theatre attracted the artisans from Portugal’s flourishing arts scene which in turn brought to the area intellects and radical thinkers. Chiado blossomed as the most liberal and forward thinking area in the Iberian Peninsula. During the 19th century where linguists and artist could share ideas over opium laced coffee in the bars that opened especially to cater for them. It was known that an artist could exchange his wares or art for one week’s drinking in the café Brazil; the café at one stage was Lisbon greatest museum with a variety of works hanging from it’s walls.

 

As the era of progressive thinking declined think was replaced by shopping as commercial business moved in and made the Chiado the fashionable shopping district of Lisbon. Chiado was a trend setter between 1900- 1940 but still today remains a fashionable location to shop but the intellects lingered in Chiado until the mid 60’s. The 1980’s fire severely dented the reputation of the area but Chiado has bounced back after the ten year building program to become one of Lisbon’s most tourist popular districts.

Districts of Lisbon - Alfama - Bairro Alto - Baixa - Belém - Chiado