Estrela Cathedral
#estrela #campodeourique #lisboa #lisbon

Froot toot #lisbon #campodeourique #citrus

I found an illustration of my neighborhood (#Rato) from around 1856. It shows Largo do Rato in the center, which is still there today and serves as a busy transport hub for the metro and buses. Where I currently live would have been farmland (probably mulberry ("amoreiras" em português) trees given the proximity to Amoreiras - an industrial district created for the production of silks that still produces silk ribbons today).

In the top right you can also see the Mai de Agua reservoir connected to the #Aqueduto das Águas Livres running alongside the Praca das #Amoreiras, also still here today. The photos included here show the park in modern times. Interestingly, the map also shows that the Igreja das Amoreiras (a chapel built into the aqueduct's arches) was already there at the time! Seeing people take communion at a tiny church built into an aqueduct was something else the first time I witnessed it.

The blog "Lisbon - Compared With Other Times" describes why the neighborhood is called Rato - something I have long wondered:

"The name of this area comes from the nickname that popularized the forgotten patron saint of Convento Trino, which dominates the square and until the end of the 19th century was the only building with noble features. In 1621, Manuel Gomes de Elvas, an influential New Christian in Lisbon, founded a convent there for Ladies of the Order of the Holy Trinity, the first of this Order in Lisbon. After his death, he continued to be patronized by his descendants, one of them, Luís Gomes de Sá e Meneses, was nicknamed “o Rato”, a nickname that stuck to the convent and extended to the wide frontier." (info source: http://lisboahojeeontem.blogspot.com/2012/10/largo-do-rato.html)

Illustration source: Jardins Históricos de Portugal - Memória & Futuro, Atlas de Carta Topográfica de Lisboa (Filipe Folque, 1856-58)

#rato #lisbon #lisboa #portugal #campodeourique #amoreiras #history #maps #cartography #jardimsoflisbon #aqueduto

Jardim Tapada das Necessidades - West of Estrela and south of Campo de Ourique is a seemingly-abandoned little gem of a park! The best way to describe it is that it feels very old and - at one point - very fancy. It's now home to a flock of large geese, chickens and roosters, and peacocks that roam the grounds. Many of the pathways and structures are in disrepair, giving the park an abandoned and lonely vibe. The name "Necessidades" derives from Nossa Senhora das Necessidades: a miracle-worker who reportedly healed Dom João V and donated the land that would later become a chapel, convent, private residence, and gardens for the king in 1742.

The site was expanded by Dom Fernão in 1843 where (according to Jardins Históricos de Portugal - Memória & Futuro) he enlarged the garden and "experimented with hundreds of new plants", leading to a larger trend of planting exotic trees and shrubs in Portugal. The cactus garden is said to be one of the oldest in Europe. Between 1855 and 1861, Dom Pedro V built the domed greenhouse pictured here. It's ruined now and, I imagine, used only for high school finger-banging.

Some areas of the park are overgrown and ignored, while others (like a big green space in the center) appear better-tended. None of the fountains work and are, in fact, quite dirty. If anything, the mosquito pits add to the charm and spooky feeling of this park. This is all due to a complex arrangement of ownership and protection involving parties at the federal and municipal levels, as well as local activists and private interests. While the park could use some path improvements, demolition, and maintenance, I hope it doesn't stray too far from its original shape and form.

#lisbon #lisboa #portugal #jardims #tapadadasnecessidades #jardimsoflisbon #jardimshistóricos #history #campodeourique #estrela