Place · Portugal
The history of Lisbon, Portugal, one place at a time
Assembled from 4 dug tiles · 44 sourced records · last reviewed 7 September 2026
Lisbon's ground carries a walled hill taken by siege in 1147, a riverside palace lost to the 1755 earthquake, and buildings where the secret police worked and finally fired on a crowd in 1974. Each site here was researched on its own before being gathered into this record.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Lisbon — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Lisbon
The building where the last shots for the dictatorship were firedOn the day the regime fell, agents inside this building were the only people in Lisbon who shot at the crowd, forty paces from where you are standing. Palácio do Barão de Quintela e Conde de Farrobo
1367–2025 The king who wouldn't sit for his own portrait
A bronze king faces a river, his face copied from a coin because he refused to pose, thirty feet from where his real palace once stood. Praça do Comércio
200 BC–1965 The knight who blocked a closing gate with his body
A tiled panel ten steps from you tells how Lisbon fell in 1147. Painel de Azulejos "Conquista de Lisboa"
6400 BC–2012 Where Lisbon's secret police kept its files and its cells
Four decades of surveillance and interrogation happened a hundred paces from where you are standing. Edifício no Largo Corpo Santo, n. 19 - 22
1506–1974
Lisbon in layers
c. 6400–3600 BC
Radiocarbon samples recovered nearby, part of the Cross-referenced p3k14c dataset, date to between roughly 6400 and 3600 BC, evidence of settlement long before Rome or the Moors arrived. OpenContext - Cross-referenced p3k14c
Roman period
Ancient authors mention Olisipo, the Roman-era name for Lisbon, in eighteen surviving passages across eight texts, placing the settlement on this stretch of the Tagus. ToposText: Olisipo
Roman era
The Romans knew this city as Olisipo, a name cited across eighteen surviving ancient texts, centered near where the castle and cathedral stand today. ToposText - Ancient gazetteer
The Pillory of Lisbon, once used to punish and shame condemned people publicly, is classified as a National Monument in the municipal square close by. Wikipedia: Pillory of Lisbon
unveiled 19th century
Ninety meters uphill, a bronze statue of the poet Luís de Camões stands over eight smaller figures of Portugal's Age of Discovery writers, including the chronicler Fernão Lopes. Wikipedia: Camões Monument
medieval period
The Pillory of Lisbon, now a protected National Monument, marked the spot in the municipal square where offenders were exposed to public punishment. Wikipedia: Pillory of Lisbon
A short walk down the slope, Palácio Belmonte occupies part of the old walled town, its patio still carrying the name Pátio de Dom Fradique. Wikipedia - Palácio Belmonte
1147
Crusader forces joined Portugal's first king to besiege the Moorish-held city in 1147, a campaign later painted by Roque Gameiro and Joaquim Rodrigues Braga. Wikidata: Siege of Lisbon
from 1147
Construction of Lisbon Cathedral began in 1147 on the site of the city's principal mosque, once the Christian forces retook Lisbon from Moorish rule. Lisbon Cathedral - Sé de Lisboa
1147
When Christian forces under Afonso Henriques took Lisbon from the Moors in 1147, the church now beside you was built on the grounds of a former Moorish fortification. Tripadvisor - Igreja de Santa Luzia
1 July – 25 October 1147
From July to October 1147, Crusader and Portuguese forces besieged the Moorish city below the castle, one of the few Christian victories of the Second Crusade. Wikipedia - Siege of Lisbon
1147 camp; monastery 17th century
A short walk northeast, the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, begun on the site of Afonso Henriques's 1147 siege camp, now contains the pantheon where Portugal's Braganza monarchs are buried. Wikipedia - Monastery of São Vicente de Fora
medieval origin
The parish church of Santiago, just below the viewpoint, anchors what was once its own medieval parish before Lisbon absorbed it into Santa Maria Maior in 2012. Wikipedia - Santiago, Lisbon
medieval, wall built under Ferdinand I (r. 1367-1383)
Ruins of a tower from the Fernandine Wall, ordered built by King Ferdinand I, still stand inside the Espaço Chiado complex at numbers 12-20 of Rua da Misericórdia. APS Ruas de Lisboa com alguma História blog
born 1437
Isaac Abrabanel, the Jewish statesman, philosopher, and biblical commentator, was born in Lisbon in 1437 before later serving the courts of Portugal, Spain, and Naples. Wikidata/Wikipedia: Isaac Abarbanel
died 1536
Gil Vicente, considered the founder of Portuguese and Spanish drama, died in Lisbon in 1536 after a career writing dozens of plays for the royal court. Wikidata/Wikipedia: Gil Vicente
16th century onward
Rua da Misericórdia was once Rua Larga de São Roque, renamed for the Santa Casa da Misericórdia charity founded nearby in 1498 by Queen Eleanor of Viseu and Friar Miguel Contreiras. APS Ruas de Lisboa com alguma História blog
early 16th century – 1755
King Manuel I ordered this palace built when he found the older hilltop castle unsuitable, and it served as the main royal residence for around two and a half centuries until the 1755 earthquake destroyed it. Wikipedia: Ribeira Palace
April 1506
Mobs killed thousands of New Christians (forced Jewish converts) over three days in April 1506, one of the darkest events in the city's history. Wikidata: Lisbon Massacre
April 1506
A mob massacred thousands of New Christians and Jews in Lisbon starting April 19, 1506, in violence centered close to this square. Wikidata: Lisbon Massacre
1564
In 1564 the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, the body this street is named for, was given control of the Hospital de Todos-os-Santos, one of the city's main hospitals. AESE Business School case study
founded 1732
Livraria Bertrand, founded in 1732 in Chiado, was certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest operating bookstore on Earth. Wikipedia: Livraria Bertrand
1 November 1755
The great earthquake of November 1, 1755 brought down the Misericórdia church while it was full of people for the holiday, one of many Lisbon churches that fell that morning. Britannica
1755
The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 destroyed much of the Misericórdia's property in this district, forcing it to rebuild its headquarters from scratch. AESE Business School case study
Questions about Lisbon
What is Lisbon known for historically?
Lisbon is known for the 1147 siege that brought the city under Christian control, for the 1755 earthquake that destroyed the Ribeira Palace and brought down churches on a morning of packed pews, and for the political police, PVDE/PIDE/DGS, that operated from buildings in the city from 1933 to 1974.
What happened at Lisbon in 1974?
On 25 April 1974, the day the Estado Novo dictatorship fell, agents of the DGS secret police fired from their headquarters at the Palácio do Barão de Quintela e Conde de Farrobo, killing four civilians in the crowd — the only shots fired at anyone in the capital that day.
What happened at Praça do Comércio?
Praça do Comércio occupies the site of the Ribeira Palace, the royal residence destroyed in the 1755 earthquake. Its bronze equestrian statue of King José I, cast in 1775, was modelled from a coin because the king refused to sit for a portrait.
What happened during the 1147 siege of Lisbon?
Crusader and Portuguese forces besieged Moorish Lisbon for nearly four months, and the city fell on 25 October 1147. A tiled panel records how the soldier Martim Moniz wedged his body into the closing gate of São Jorge castle during the assault, dying so Christian forces could pass through.
Where did Portugal's secret police operate in Lisbon?
Portugal's political police, known successively as the PVDE, PIDE and DGS, worked from buildings in Lisbon from 1933 until 1974, including one near the Largo Corpo Santo and the Palácio do Barão de Quintela e Conde de Farrobo, where officers made their final stand on 25 April 1974.
What was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake?
The 1755 earthquake destroyed the Ribeira Palace on the riverfront and brought down churches across the city, including the Misericórdia church, which collapsed on All Saints' Day with worshippers inside.