History
There is evidence of human occupation in the present-day area of Campolide since Prehistory. Later, the landscape was marked by estates, vineyards, olive groves, quarries and land belonging to religious orders or noble families; stone extraction has been recorded here since the 15th century. An etymological interpretation by David Lopes links the name to “campo de Olide”, with Olide being a name of Arabic origin. Medieval references to Campoliti, Campolidi and the vineyards of Campolide, however, concern a territory larger than today’s civil parish.
In the 18th century, the Aqueduto das Águas Livres changed the scale of the area. Its construction brought workers, helped consolidate settlement on the Encosta de Campolide and survives in the name Calçada dos Mestres. By the middle of that century, Campolide de Baixo and Campolide de Cima were recognised as two main settlements, while building also spread along the path now known as Rua de Campolide.
The valley was then crossed in the open by the Ribeira de Alcântara. During the 20th century, its covering and channelling radically transformed this geography; the water now runs beneath Avenida de Ceuta and other infrastructure. The affordable housing neighbourhoods of Alto da Serafina and Calçada dos Mestres began to be built in the 1940s, as the Viaduto Duarte Pacheco, the Avenida de Ceuta embankments and other works reshaped the valley.
The civil parish was created in 1959. Campolide also had its own role in the 25 April Revolution: Caçadores 5, based in the area, was among the units that set out in the early hours of 1974, and the parish held street celebrations on the revolution’s first anniversary. Today, the paths of Jardim de Campolide, Quinta do Zé Pinto and the Corredor Verde de Monsanto bring the urban fabric back towards the slopes and valley.