Estrela

Before it became today’s civil parish, this area brought together places of markedly different character: riverside neighbourhoods tied to river trades, including Santos-o-Velho and Madragoa, and slopes that long retained a more rural feel. The name Estrela was already in use through the Convento de Nossa Senhora da Estrela, founded in 1572. Later, the construction of the Basilica, begun in the late 18th century following a vow by Queen Maria I, profoundly changed the former Casal da Estrela and gave the area a new sense of scale. Necessidades, São Bento and Prazeres also reveal how religious sites acquired new roles. Palácio das Necessidades and its Tapada date from the 18th century; Mosteiro de São Bento da Saúde began receiving the Cortes in 1834 and became the seat of Parliament. A cholera epidemic led to the creation of Cemitério dos Prazeres in 1833, and it passed into municipal management two years later. Jardim Guerra Junqueiro, originally Passeio da Estrela, opened in 1852 with an English-influenced landscape design of winding paths, lakes, artificial grottoes and a bandstand. In Madragoa, Convento das Bernardas was rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake and went on to serve as housing, a school, theatre, cinema, grocer’s, warehouse and metal workshop. It now houses, among other facilities, Museu da Marioneta. The present civil parish was created under the administrative reorganisation established by Law no. 56/2012, bringing together the former parishes of Lapa, Prazeres and Santos-o-Velho. Its gradients still connect these stories: from the river to the hillsides, and from former convents to the buildings that gave them new purposes.

Basílica da Estrela is the area’s defining visual landmark, but it did not give the place its name. Estrela was already associated with Convento de Nossa Senhora da Estrela, founded in 1572. Construction of the Basilica began more than two centuries later, in the late 18th century. Its dome may have claimed most of the attention, but the name was there long before it took over the skyline.

Basílica da Estrela · Jardim Guerra Junqueiro — Jardim da Estrela · Largo da Estrela · Calçada da Estrela · Palácio de São Bento — Assembleia da República · Cemitério dos Prazeres · Tapada das Necessidades · Convento das Bernardas · Museu da Marioneta · Madragoa · Santos-o-Velho

Climb from Madragoa towards Largo da Estrela and notice how the change in elevation alters the way the streets read. · Circle Basílica da Estrela and look for its dome from different parts of the civil parish. · Follow the winding paths of Jardim Guerra Junqueiro, noting its lakes, artificial grottoes and bandstand. · Pass Convento das Bernardas and consider the many uses the building acquired after the dissolution of the religious orders. · Set the monumental presence of Palácio de São Bento against the details that still point to its monastic origins. · Follow Calçada da Estrela towards Prazeres and trace the religious origin of the cemetery’s name. · Explore the paths and historic structures of Tapada das Necessidades. · In the streets of Madragoa and Santos-o-Velho, notice these places’ historic connection with riverside livelihoods.