Santa Maria Maior

Castelo hill holds some of the city’s oldest surviving layers. On its slope, the Roman Theatre, built in the 1st century, used the natural gradient; part of its ruins was later buried beneath newer buildings, in a very Lisbon example of a city building over itself. Higher up, the Núcleo Arqueológico do Castelo de São Jorge preserves mid-11th-century Islamic domestic structures. Following the Christian conquest of 1147, construction began on Sé de Lisboa, linked to the historic name Igreja de Santa Maria Maior. Its site probably corresponds to that of a former mosque, although this is not an archaeological certainty. Medieval neighbourhoods developed around it, including Alfama, Castelo, Mouraria and São Cristóvão, where narrow streets, stairways and street patterns predating the Pombaline reconstruction remain. Igreja de São Cristóvão originated in a church associated with Lisbon’s Mozarabic community during the Islamic period and was largely rebuilt in the first half of the 18th century. By the 17th century, these streets already had their congestion: coaches, sedan chairs, seges and carts competed for passages too narrow for two vehicles. A decree of 9 October 1686 set out priorities, generally requiring uphill traffic to reverse and let downhill traffic pass. The 1755 earthquake, followed by fires and the waters of the Tejo entering the city, transformed the centre profoundly. Under Manuel da Maia’s direction, Baixa was rebuilt with broad streets, regular blocks and a new framework between Praça do Comércio and Rossio; on the slopes, older street patterns proved more stubborn. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Ruínas do Carmo became an open-air reminder of the earthquake, while Elevador de Santa Justa, inaugurated in 1902, addressed the rise between Baixa and Carmo in iron. The present-day civil parish of Santa Maria Maior was created in Lisbon’s 2012 administrative reorganisation, bringing together twelve former parishes and neighbourhoods that retain distinct identities.

Traffic jams in central Lisbon did not begin with cars. In the 17th century, coaches, sedan chairs, seges and carts met in streets where two vehicles simply could not fit side by side — with the predictable arguments over who had priority. A decree of 9 October 1686 attempted to bring order to the flow, prompting the placement of stone markers at key points. The general rule was simple, if not particularly welcome for anyone climbing uphill: reverse and let downhill traffic through. Of the 23 markers installed, only three are currently identified. One of these rare survivors can still be seen on Rua do Salvador in Santa Maria Maior: a small reminder that, centuries before horns, Lisbon was already negotiating space, gradients and patience.

Castelo de São Jorge · Núcleo Arqueológico do Castelo de São Jorge · Sé de Lisboa · Largo da Sé · Museu de Lisboa – Teatro Romano · Rua do Salvador · Portas do Sol · Igreja de São Cristóvão · Largo de São Cristóvão · Mouraria · Martim Moniz · Praça da Figueira · Rossio · Baixa Pombalina · Rua Augusta · Praça do Comércio · Arco da Rua Augusta · Casa dos Bicos · Largo do Carmo · Ruínas do Carmo

On Rua do Salvador, look for the stone marker that once indicated priority for coach traffic. · Compare the narrow streets of Alfama with the regular geometry of Baixa Pombalina. · Notice how the Roman Theatre uses the hill’s natural slope. · Walk around Sé de Lisboa and look for the building’s different architectural phases. · Head uphill towards Castelo, looking for remnants of the city’s former walls and gateways. · Cross Mouraria with an eye on street names, stairways and the scale of its lanes. · Follow Rua Augusta and notice the regularity of the Pombaline blocks. · Compare the openness of Praça do Comércio with the neighbourhoods built on the slopes. · Look closely at Casa dos Bicos and its pointed stone façade. · At Largo do Carmo, take in the open nave of Ruínas do Carmo. · Notice how Elevador de Santa Justa tackles the rise between Baixa and Carmo.