History
Before Lisbon expanded, this area was shaped by estates, market gardens, paths and small settlements. In 1598, a chapel dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Penha de França was built here; it became a pilgrimage destination and led to a religious complex enlarged from 1604 onwards. The church inaugurated around 1625 was remodelled in 1754, but both church and convent collapsed in the 1755 earthquake. Their reconstruction, led by Aires da Cunha, was completed in the late eighteenth century. Industrial growth in eastern Lisbon, especially from the second half of the nineteenth century, brought new residents, workers’ courtyards and housing rows. The civil parish was created in 1918; since the 2012 administrative reorganisation, it has brought together the former areas of São João and Penha de França, spanning the hill, Alto de São João and Xabregas within one parish.