Rossio - Praça Dom Pedro IV

The Praça Dom Pedro IV or more commonly known as Rossio is the main central square of Lisbon and the true heart of the city. The Portuguese take pride in their great square with it's nauseating stone paving, grand fountains and statue of (supposedly) Dom Pedro IV.

Lisbon revolves around Rossio, it is here that the students come to sing, workers to protest, tourist to drink over priced coffee, police show off their new gizmos while old men sit on the benches and watch the world go by. Rossio is Lisbon and this is why so many tourist end up falling in love with the square which is conveniently the main tourist hub of the city.

 

Praca Dom Pedro IV is centrally located in Baixa, south of Praça dos Restauradores, north of Praça do Comercio and the Rua Augusta, west of Praça de Figueira, overlooked by the ruins of the Igreja do Carmo on one hill and Castelo de Sao Jorge on the other. Rossio is well connected; the green metro station Rossio lies below the square, trains depart to Sintra from the station and buses travel to all parts of the city including the airport bus, the Aero Bus.

The Praça dom Pedro IV is the official name of the square after the inauguration of the statue of dom Pedro IV in 1874 but Lisbon’s residents have never taken to the name and still refer to the square as Rossio. This name has its roots well before the 1755 earthquake when the area of Praça dom Pedro IV was the capital’s central open area accessible to all common people. The rough translation of Rossio means common land and it was here that the old city of Lisbon centred around.

 

Rossio was founded during the 13 century as the large central square where public shows, bull fights and royal proclamations occurred. During the era of the Inquisitions Rossio was the public executions ground, with Portugal’s first auto-da-fe 1540 conducted in the Palace of Estaus – now the site of the Teatro Nacional D Maria.

 

Lisbon’s original hospital the “Hospital Real de Todos os Santos”, decreed by King John II in 1492, faced out onto the Rossio and covered much of what is now Praça de Figeria. Rossio will always be regarded as the true name of Praça dom Pedro IV by the Portuguese as Rossio’s history stretches much further back than the construction of a statue.

The wave pattern stone paving was added to Rossio during the 19th century, designed to resemble the oceans but more often disorientates late night revellers. The two baroque fountains were installed at the same time as the statue of King Pedro IV (1870’s) and were imported from France.

 

The main attractions of the square are the Teatro Nacional D. Maria I which dominates the entire north side, the statue of Dom Pedro IV, the two giant fountains and the wave patterns produced by small blocks of stone. The real draw of the square is the atmosphere, be it lounging around the side of the square drink a refreshing drink or in the midst of the students singing.