sunnylisbon

Not many people pay a visit to the Pimenta Musuem even though it offers free entrance for all every Sunday morning. What a shame! It is full of Lisbon's history  and there are three exhibitions.  from history mural at Portas de Sol Viewpoint One is a permanent exhibition showing Lisbon's history.  The other two are temporary ones.  One is the artworks of Maria Capelo.  The other is about São vicente.  The tile of the exhibition is Vincent , the myth in Lisbon.  Vincent is the patron saint of Lisbon  so you can see his statue at Portas de Sol viewpoints,  one of the famous viewpoints in Lisbon.  The story about crows covering his dead body to protect from any harm is very well-known.  Even while the first King of Portugal carried the saint's body on a ship,  crows followed and protected the saint.  That's why the coat of arms in Lisbon has crows.  You can also s...

Lisboa is full of history. The way of preserving its history is very very impressive. When you go to the Rossio square right next to McDonald, you can see a stone pillar in a clothing store. At first glance, it looks like a decoration of the store. But the pillar is actually the last remains of the hospital real de todos os santos , started by John II of Portugal and finished in 1504 during the reign of his brother-in-law, Manuel I . John II of Portugal The hospital real de todos os santos means All Saints Royal Hopsital. It was also called Hospital Grande(Grand Hospital) because of its size.  Also called Hospital dos Pobres(Hospital of the poor), it was philanthropic to help the poor. At first it was run by a man appointed by Manuel I. Manuel I of Portugal Queen Eleanor, who was Manuel's sister and John II's queen, founded the Brotherhood of the Mercy in 1498. And then in 1564 the charity started to administer the hospital afterwards.  T...

Visitors from outside Rossio always pass through the Rossio square. Decorated with beautiful calçada and fountains, it shows off its beauty every day. fountain imported from France wave patterned  calçada Rossio means commons. Its original name is not Rossio square. It is D. Pedro IV Square, but not even Lisbonians call it that name. Well, the reason is D. Pedro IV wasn't popular among the commons. Because of him, there was a civil war. You can see his statue in Porto too.  The statue you see in Comerico square is D. Jose I.  D. Jose I. He suffered the Lisbon earthquake and his daughter was D. Maria I. D. Maria I Withe her son Joao VI and her grandson Pedro IV, D. Maria I left for Brazil because of Napoleon. family tree of D. Pedro IV Leaving her people behind was not good. But the worst came later. Pedro declared himself an emperor of Brazil and became Pedro I. He left Portugal in his daughter Maria II's care. ...

As I am studying Portuguese history, I find more and more connections with English. At the start of the second dynasty, Aviz, the King of Portugal, John got married to an English princess, who later became Queen consort, Filippa. Their marriage produced the world famous son,  Henry the navigator and their great grandson was Manuel I . At the Belem district, you can see the monument of discovery full of the sons of King John I and Queen Filipa In the picture above, at the front Henry the navigator, right behind him on his knees is Prince Fernando. At the end is Prince Pedro, the father-in-law of Afonso V . Right in front of him is Queen Filipa, consort of John I. You can check who's who on the west of of the monument . At the start of the fourth and last dynasty, Braganza, the King of England, Charles II got married to a Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza . Even though they had no children between them, through their marriage, the tea d...