Place · Portugal
The history of Porto
Assembled from 4 dug tiles · 72 sourced records · 499 BC–2015 · last reviewed 11 October 2026
Porto grew from Cale, a settlement known from around the fifth century BC, into a walled medieval city and then a capital of commerce and revolution. Across its squares and streets, monks, kings, crusaders and city planners each left their mark, from a sixth-century diocese to a nineteenth-century avenue.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Porto — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Porto
Porto's central squareYou're standing in Liberdade Square, the open square at the foot of Porto's main boulevard. Liberdade Square
499 BC–1916 A square built by demolition
You're standing in the open plaza in front of Porto's cathedral, a square created in the 1940s by tearing down the medieval neighborhood that stood here. Terreiro da Sé
588–1953 Porto
A former civil parish folded into Porto's old quarter, beside Praça de Carlos Alberto. Freguesia da Vitória
588–2013 A protected row of 18th-century buildings
You're standing among the buildings that line Rua de Cedofeita, a street opened in 1762. Edifício na Rua de Cedofeita nº 137 a 149
499 BC–2015
Porto in layers
from around 499 BC
Ancient sources name a settlement called Cale on this ground, which the Romans later knew as Portus Cale, the root of the name Portugal itself. TopostText / Pleiades gazetteer
from the 5th century BC through Roman rule
Long before Porto existed, this area was known to Lusitania-era inhabitants and later the Romans as Cale, the ancient settlement behind the city's modern name. Ancient World Mapping Center / Pleiades
heritage designation, 20th century buildings
The grand bank and insurance buildings ringing the square, including the one just 18 meters from where you stand, are formally protected as part of the historic ensemble of Praça da Liberdade and Avenida dos Aliados. Wikidata heritage register
The structure at Rua de Cedofeita nos. 137-149, 16 meters away, is listed as part of a protected ensemble of buildings along this street and the top of Praça de Carlos Alberto. Wikidata
Centro Português de Fotografia
The Cadeia da Relação, Porto's old courthouse and prison building a few streets away, later became home to the Portuguese Centre of Photography. Wikipedia
from 588 AD
The Diocese of Porto has had authority over this ground since the year 588, one of the oldest continuous institutions in the city. FamilySearch Research Places
from 588
The Diocese do Porto dates its own founding to 588, making it one of the oldest institutions attached to this ground. FamilySearch
Diocese do Porto, Portugal
The Diocese do Porto, which governed this part of the city, dates back to 588 AD, one of the oldest institutions recorded in the area. FamilySearch
9th century; discovered in modern times
Renovation work beneath the front staircase of Porto Cathedral uncovered tombs dating to the 9th century, evidence of Christian burial on this ground long before the square existed. Portoalities
traditionally 6th century, documented from 1087
The Church of São Martinho de Cedofeita, a rare single-nave vaulted medieval temple, gave this whole district its name and its parish identity by the 12th century. Church of São Martinho de Cedofeita (Wikipedia)
Medieval to modern period
An ambulant market called the Mercado de Levante operated along Rua Escura and Rua de São Sebastião beside the cathedral from medieval into modern times, one of Porto's oldest trading grounds. Porto Canal
1147
In 1147 the Bishop of Porto persuaded English, Flemish and German crusaders moored on the Douro to join King Afonso Henriques in capturing Lisbon from the Moors. Portugal Travel Guide
from 1286
The street now called Rua de São Sebastião was once Rua da Sapataria, 'Shoemakers' Street,' a name recorded as early as 1286, with a canon named Abril Peres owning a house there by 1295. Vias Romanas
c. 1333
Around 1333 a Gothic funerary chapel went up inside the cathedral for João Gordo, a knight who served King Dinis I, his recumbent figure carved on the tomb among reliefs of the Apostles. Wikipedia
1387
In 1387 King João I married Philippa of Lancaster at the cathedral beside this square, sealing the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance that still stands today. Portugal Travel Guide
Rua de São Miguel, near Escadas da Esnoga
A short walk north, the old Judiaria do Olival, with its synagogue on Rua de São Miguel, held Porto's largest Jewish community until it was destroyed and its people expropriated and dispersed at the end of the 15th century. Wikiwand
died 1531
Luis Eduardo Padilla Coronell, a Spanish royal military leader who died in 1531, is recorded as buried in Porto Cathedral, just steps from where you stand. Wikidata
from 1569
The oldest administrative record of this exact area names it as the parish of Miragaia, in place by 1569 and lasting as a civil jurisdiction for centuries after. FamilySearch
Freguesia da Vitória, Porto
Bishop Marcos de Betânia created the parish of Nossa Senhora da Vitória in 1583 to serve the city's growth beyond the medieval walls, and it was enlarged in 1592 when the neighboring parish of São João de Belmonte was dissolved into it. Wikiwand
Mosteiro de São Bento da Vitória
King-authorized construction of the Mosteiro de São Bento da Vitória began in 1598 under architect Diogo Marques Lucas, built partly on the site of the old Judiaria, and it was later classified as a National Monument in 1977. Teatro Nacional São João
first recorded 1638
Praça Carlos Alberto was first recorded in 1638 as Largo dos Ferradores, the Square of Blacksmiths, before being renamed in 1849 for the exiled Sardinian king. Hey Porto
Praça Carlos Alberto, Porto
From at least 1638 the square served as Largo dos Ferradores, where travelers' mounts were shod before passing through the Olival Gate in the Fernandina city walls toward Braga and the north. HeyPorto
1694-1703
Between 1694 and 1703 the Congregation of São Filipe Nery altered their church project and added a convent building beside this spot, the oldest dated thing recorded this close to where you stand. Rota Porto Liberal
1699
A small roadside shrine, an alminha, was set into the wall at number 53 Rua de São Sebastião in 1699, the kind of marker usually placed at the site of a death or accident. Vias Romanas
Questions about Porto
What is Porto known for historically?
Porto is known for its layered public spaces built over centuries of change: Liberdade Square, laid out from 1718 as Praça Nova; Terreiro da Sé, cleared of a medieval neighbourhood in the 1930s and 1940s; and Rua de Cedofeita, opened in 1762 under João de Almada e Melo's renewal plan. The city's name traces to Cale, the settlement recorded here from around 499 BC, later Portus Cale under Roman rule.
What happened at Praça da Liberdade in Porto?
Praça da Liberdade began as Praça Nova in 1718, when the Cathedral chapter surrendered land outside the city walls. It later witnessed political hangings in 1829, a republic proclaimed from the city hall balcony on 31 January 1891, and the rise of Avenida dos Aliados in 1916 after a whole neighbourhood was cleared. A bronze equestrian monument to Dom Pedro IV, cast in Belgium, was unveiled there on 19 October 1866.
What happened at the cathedral square, Terreiro da Sé, in Porto?
Terreiro da Sé was created in the 1930s and 1940s when planners demolished the medieval quarter pressed against the cathedral, removing streets, a bishop's jail and a chapel. The ground had served as a burial site since the ninth century and as a gathering point for crusaders in 1147 before they helped take Lisbon.
What is the history of Rua de Cedofeita in Porto?
Rua de Cedofeita was opened in 1762 as part of a renewal plan led by João de Almada e Melo, taking its name from the nearby Church of São Martinho de Cedofeita. Its row houses, mostly filled in after 1839, were designated a protected Immovable Cultural Heritage ensemble in 1993.
What happened at Praça de Carlos Alberto in Porto?
Praça de Carlos Alberto occupies ground once part of the parish of Vitória, founded in 1583 and dissolved in 2013, near the former Judiaria do Olival, Porto's largest Jewish quarter, expelled at the end of the fifteenth century. The square was once a farriers' yard at a city gate, and a hospital for the Third Order of Carmel broke ground there in 1791.
Who is commemorated by the bronze monument in Praça da Liberdade?
The monument depicts Dom Pedro IV on horseback, holding the constitution he fought for, cast in bronze in Belgium and raised on a ten-metre column of lioz stone. It was unveiled on 19 October 1866, replacing a provisional pedestal first erected in 1852.