Praça do Marquês de Pombal

The Praça do Marquês de Pombal (the Square of the Marquis of Pombal) is how Lisbon remembers the great politician who was the main driving force behind the reconstruction of Lisbon after the devastating 1755 earthquake. The square named after the Marquis of Pombal is right at the centre of Lisbon, with the convergence of both three of the capitals largest boulevards and the metro network.

The monument dedicated to the Marquês de Pombal stands commandingly in the centre of the square facing down the avenue of independence towards Baixa which was re-built under his vision and guidance. The statue was proposed 1917 during the early days of the Portuguese republic but was not inaugurated until 1934. The monument to the Marquês aligned nicely with the propaganda and self confidence drive of the republic which focused on glorifying national heroes and events.

 

The statue is a beautiful piece of workmanship and tourists should attempt to view the monument closely and in detail. At the top of the 36 meter high pedestal stands the 9 meter bronze statue of the Marquês de Pombal while the base is full of symbolism from both the 1755 earthquake and the turn of the last century. The major carvings are elephants which signify power and leadership while the rough stones and jagged rocks remembers the shattered ground after the 1755 earthquake. The monument of the Marques de Pombal was designed by Francisco Santos, Adães Bermudes and António Couto.

The Praça do Marquês de Pombal connects the three wide boulevards the Avenue Liberdade, the Avenue Duque de Loulé and the Avenue Fontes Pereira de Melo. This central convergence has unfortunately transformed the Praça do Marquês de Pombal into the city’s largest and busiest roundabout with heavily traffic flowing through all times of the day.

 

Even more sadly the Praça do Marquês de Pombal could be regarded as unappealing during the day as chocked by traffic, noise and fumes. The best time of day to visit the once magnificent square is during the night or as part of an evening walk, when the allure of the area fully returns.

The Praca do Marques de Pombal is at the top of the Avenue Liberdade and the walk down the grand boulevard makes for a pleasant relaxing stroll. Both of the older yellow and blue metro lines have their main intersection at the Marquês de Pombal metro station, so if heading south on the metro towards Rossio we recommend exiting at Marques de Pombal and enjoying the sights of the Praça do Marquês de Pombal the gentle walk down the Avenue Liberdade. The other great advantage of walking south from the Praça do Marquês de Pombal to Rossio is that it is completely downhill.

 

The Praça do Marquês de Pombal is the primary stop for all of the open air tourist buses, expect for the one operated by Carris (the yellow bus). It is here were the tour bus companies start and terminate their routes and is the location to change from one route to another. The Praça do Marquês de Pombal backs onto the large park the Parque de Eduardo VII this hill stretches uphill to the huge flag that fly’s high over Lisbon.