LISBON TO DISCOVER · 05 / 24

Arroios

Arroios rewards attention between traffic lights, shopfronts, markets and façades. Today’s civil parish brings together the former parishes of Anjos, Pena and São Jorge de Arroios, in a valley that long connected higher ground with central Lisbon. Its name preserves the memory of the watercourses that crossed this land; the city gradually covered them with streets, homes and avenues. Along Avenida Almirante Reis, former estates gave way to blocks from different periods, hospitals, local commerce and neighbourhoods with their own naming systems. Run slowly enough to notice: here, a church once had to change sides so the avenue could pass.

History

Today’s Arroios civil parish was formed by combining the former parishes of Anjos, Pena and São Jorge de Arroios. Its territory developed in a valley descending from Areeiro towards Baixa, a natural passage that shaped movement and urban growth. Before the avenue, travel between the then-rural outskirts and the centre followed streets such as Rua da Palma, Rua Direita dos Anjos and Rua Direita de Arroios.

Water helps explain the area’s early settlement: watercourses and fertile land supported agriculture and drew residents. Igreja dos Anjos, whose parish was created in 1563, and Convento de Santana, founded in the 16th century, were among the early focal points. After the 1755 earthquake, the area received people displaced from central Lisbon, including in temporary housing between Bemposta and Arroios. Palaces, convents and, later, healthcare facilities strengthened its urban and care-giving role.

Expansion beginning in the late 19th century changed the area’s scale. The axis was first Avenida dos Anjos, then Avenida Rainha Dona Amélia and, from 1910, Avenida Almirante Reis, named for Cândido dos Reis. Its construction urbanised former estates and rural land, giving rise to neighbourhoods including Andrade, Inglaterra, Açores and the historic Bairro das Colónias, now Bairro das Novas Nações. Their streets retain thematic naming patterns, while communities of varied origins continue to add new layers to parish life.

Did you know?

THE CHURCH THAT HAD TO CROSS THE AVENUE

The former Igreja dos Anjos stood at Regueirão dos Anjos, directly in the path of the new Avenida Rainha Dona Amélia. The answer was not to put the church on wheels — Lisbon did not go quite that far. The building was demolished on 11 January 1908 and rebuilt on the western side of the new avenue.

The design by architect José Luís Monteiro retained the church’s proportions and incorporated the interior of the earlier church. The present Igreja dos Anjos opened on 11 March 1910. Later that year, the avenue was renamed Avenida Almirante Reis.

For a runner, the usual response when a street changes sides is to find a crossing. Here, the city did something more drastic: it dismantled a church, retained elements and its earlier interior, then rebuilt it across the axis. When passing the church, look at the avenue as more than a transport corridor: its construction rearranged the urban scene itself.

Reference points

01Avenida Almirante Reis — An axis of urban expansion, previously called Avenida dos Anjos and Avenida Rainha Dona Amélia.
02Igreja dos Anjos — Rebuilt in 1910 on the western side of the avenue after the earlier church was demolished.
03Largo do Intendente Pina Manique — Its popular name came from the nearby palace of Pina Manique; the current designation was formalised in 1955.
04Mercado de Arroios — Opened in 1942 on Rua Ângela Pinto, between Praça do Chile and Alameda Dom Afonso Henriques.
05Mercado do Forno do Tijolo — One of the markets woven into the parish’s everyday commercial life.
06Bairro Andrade — A neighbourhood created through the urbanisation of former estates and rural land beside the new axis.
07Bairro de Inglaterra — An urban ensemble whose street names reveal a thematic approach to naming.
08Bairro das Novas Nações — The current name of the former Bairro das Colónias, established in the 1930s in an area formerly known as Charca.
09Palácio da Bemposta — One of the palaces that helped shape the historical growth of this area.

Suggestions for exploring

Travel along Avenida Almirante Reis and compare the scale of its blocks, side streets and façades as the axis unfolds.
Look at Igreja dos Anjos and picture the position of the earlier church before the avenue was opened.
Seek out water’s memory in the names Arroios, Regueirão, Fontainhas and Charca; the tarmac did not erase the vocabulary.
Notice the naming themes in Bairro Andrade, Bairro de Inglaterra, Bairro dos Açores and Bairro das Novas Nações.
Step into Mercado de Arroios and observe the meeting of local trade and the everyday uses of a diverse parish.
Climb from the lower ground towards the slopes and notice how the valley’s shape organises streets, views and pace.
Compare older squares and narrower streets with the avenue’s broad alignment, and see how each scale directs movement through the city.

Editorial sources

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