Principe Real is the Lisbon gay district.

The bairro or “neighbourhood” resulted from urban expansion in the 16th century, forming outside the walls of the historical city, and is characterized by an almost orthogonal tract (developing from two phases of distinct urbanization).

It is a fundamental quarter of Lisbon, organized into a hierarchical scheme of roads and lanes: the roads, the structural axis, run perpendicular to the river; and the lanes, or secondary axis, cut parallel to the river. The matrix of allotments reflects the persistent use of the medieval layout; the division and multiplication of this module had its origin in the variations of the architectural typology. The space constructed is dominated by living spaces implanted in long narrow lots, of three- to four-storeys in height, with asymmetric facades consisting of windows along the various storeys and staircases along the lateral flanks. Although less representative, the Pombaline-era buildings are common, essentially introducing modifications to the level of the façade’s composition. Although there are many typological variations to the facade designs, certain elements are repeated, such as the corners, bay and sill windows, eaves and attics, securing a homogeneous urbanized front.

The Bairro Alto was born as a response to the social and economic transformation in Lisbon in the second half of the 15th century. Commercial development caused the growth in the population, and an associated expansion of construction within the medieval walled city. It was this phenomenon that resulted in the urbanization process of the Bairro Alto district, in two distinct phases.

The first phase began in 1487, after the death of Guedelha Palaçano, an influential figure in the kingdom: his widow transferred lands situated on the western limit of the city to the King’s equerry, Filipe Gonçalves. The land rights for these lands were sold in 1498 to the nobleman Luís de Atouguia.

Between 1499 and 1502 various royal letters, signed by King Manuel, indicated that there was a need to demolish the balconies and verandas that occupied public spaces in the district. This was part of a package of legislative reforms issued to improve the image of the city. A similar royal charter in 1500, was issued with the objective of transforming the free lands that still existed with the old walls. These initiatives lead to the first urbanization, named Vila Nova do Olival (around 1502), situated around the old Convent of the Trinity, using a series of administrative tools and proceedings that would, later, be used in the creation of the Bairro Alto.

In 1505, the construction of the new royal palace, resulted in the move of the Court to the riverfront, and extended the city until the Cais do Sodré.

Around 1513, the first move to divide the lands of the Bairro Alto began, under the approval of Lopo Atouguia. Bartolomeu de Andrade and his wife Francisca Cordovil received permission to section-off plots for the construction of houses. The new urbanization would be designated Vila Nova de Andrade. After the establishment of a grid network of roads, the first houses began to be built, with the majority popping-up south of the Portas de Santa Catarina in 1514. The remainder of the homes also began occupying plots along Rua das Flores, Rua do Cabo, Rua do Castelo, the consecutively named Rua Primeira, Segunda and Terceira, in addition to the Rua da Barroca do Mar. By 1527, there were a total of 408 buildings in the area, totalling 1600 inhabitants.

During the 1530s, the agglomeration began to spread towards the old Estrada de Santos (now the Calçada do Combro), tracing or following to the north of this route, where it encountered Rua da Rosa, Rua da Atalaia, Rua dos Calafates (now Rua Diário de Notícias), Rua das Gáveas, Rua do Norteand Rua de São Roque.

The 1531 earthquake resulted in a need to increase the number of residential homes, speeding the growth of the Bairro.

The first Jesuits arrived in Portugal in 1540.

In 1551, the civil parishes of Mártires and Loreto included 2464 homes and 20132 inhabitants.

The second phase of urbanization in the Bairro Alto began around 1553, with the implantation of the Society of Jesus (Portuguese: Companhia de Jesus) in the civil parish of São Roque, initiating a period of polarized growth, due to their presence. At that time, the zone to the north of Estrada de Santos began being referred to as the Bairro Alto de São Roque. This new phase, growth extended from São Roque until the terrains of the Palace of the Counts of Avintes to the north, limited by the Rua de São Boaventura, Rua do Loureiro, Rua da Cruz and Rua Formosa (now Rua do Século).

In 1559, the civil parish of Santa Catarina was created. Less than a decade later, the Largo de São Roque was formed, and the beginning of the construction of new church and residences of the Society of Jesus were initiated. The enlargement of the route between the Portas de Catarina and Largo de São Roque would occur in 1569, becoming known as the Rua Larga de São Roque.

The civil parish of Encarnação was formed in 1679.

Although the Bairro was not significantly affected by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the Marquess of Pombal developed plans to restructure the urban fabric between the Bairro Alto and Baixa, which included standardizing the largos, squares and roads. Between 1760 and 1780, was the beginning of the renovation/remodelling of the roads Rua de São Roque, Rua de Calhariz and Rua do Século, that included the widening of the routes and construction of new buildings.

Around the 19th century, the northern limites of the Bairro, including the zone around São Pedro de Alcântara up to Príncipe Real were delimited. The area was consolidated with the construction of a group of diverse buildings and specifically rental properties. The block that existed between Rua da Rosa and the Travessa do Tijolo came to condition activity in the neighborhood, including the establishment of various newspapers, of which O Bolastill remains. In 1880, the municipal council decided to widen the Rua dos Moinhos do Vento (now the Rua de São Pedro de Alcântara), expropriating lands and buildings that restricted its expansion.

In 1881, lots pertaining to the Count of Soure in the Alto do Longo area of the Bairro were opened to the public. This zone maintained a semi-rural character, with single-storey houses and courtyards, until the alteration of Rua D. Pedro V (the old Estrada da Cotovia), when the construction of four- and five-storey homes came to eliminate these early residences.

In 1887 the Caixa Geral de Depósitos was installed in the Palace of Sobral.

Republic
The old Travessa da Estrela became known as Rua Luísa Todi in 1917.

In the middle of the 20th century (1945), the Instituto do Vinho do Porto installed itself in the Palace of Ludovice, in a project under the architect Jorge Segurado.

The creation of the Gabinete Técnico do Bairro Alto (Bairro Alto Technical Council) in 1989, and the beginning of a city council policy on urban rehabilitation and renewal. In the last decades of the 20th century, there was a significant socio-cultural dynamic in the area, as a great part of the nightlife became dependent on the restaurants and bars of the quarter. Lisbon’s city council made extensive remodelling and repairs to the district, resulting in the opening of new restaurants, clubs and trendy shops. While cars were restricted in the district (except for residents and emergency vehicles), many young people began to live in the Bairro; it is generally a youth-oriented heart of the sub-culture and nightlife of Lisbon.

In 2002 some arteries in the Bairro were restricted to pedestrian traffic.

A 2004 dispatch from the President of the IPPAR, dated 11 November, determined the opening of a process to classify the district as architecturally significant.
From 1 November 2008, many of the bars in Bairro Alto were forced to close their doors at 2:00 a.m., due to noise complaints. However, after 1 August 2009, this restriction was alleviated with an extension to 3:00 a.m., which also included the increase in the number of police officers assigned to the district, to patrol the streets. Around this time, the city council approved a 1.2 million Euro investment project to improve the area’s physical appearance and improve security, as well as tackling the excessive graffiti problem.

Architecture

The multi-storey Pombaline-era facade of the Consulate-General of Brazil in the Bairro

The inclined streets and 3-storey buildings in a typical street
In addition to being formed in an orthogonal layout, the construction in the Bairro Alto used new construction techniques for the time: the transition from buildings built in wood to those completed in stone masonry.

The older homes in the bairro, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries are characteristically two types: low buildings with two storeys (ground and first floor), square, asymmetric with small windows and sills; and buildings that were long and narrow, consisting of three floors with windows, balconies and aligned spans. The first type, from the rural architectural tradition, were generally substituted for the second (which allowed a higher rate of occupation), with examples surviving to this day. The second type, which are more common, are, nonetheless, infrequent (with the exception existing along the Rua da Atalaia. From the natural typological evolution, and growth in the resident population during the 17th century, each of these types served the necessities of its inhabitants, and as a result, there were alterations to the layouts and façades over time.

Although the 1755 earthquake did not result in great damage to the Bairro, there are examples of Pombaline-era frame system employed in some of these buildings. The Pombaline building of the period is characterized by a four-storey block with differentiated windows. The façade is recognized by a symmetry made possible by a central staircase, with two opposite sets, and the windows in the mansard roofs. By the beginning of the 19th century, the Pombaline style gave way to a simplification and enhancement of the Pombaline-era buildings.

While, generally, the gaioleiro-style reinforcement of the buildings is not common, many of the Pombaline buildings were redesigned in keeping with the design aesthetic of the time. The construction of palacettes in this Romanticism style, resulted from a collage of the French aesthetic influences, identified primarily in the north and east of Bairro Alto, and especially in the area of São Pedro de Alcântara, where the Palacete Laranjeiras is the best example. This was a period that emphasized the façade of the buildings, with large verandas. They present a strong characteristic of the façade, with protruding balconies, fine gratings, frame spans over worked masonry and the application of curved lines, especially in the design of courtyards and windows along street corners. At the same time, some buildings were constructed to house workers, organized into villages or in courtyards, such as the Pátio do Tijolo (literally, the Yard of Bricks). These were multi-family buildings, usually two to three storeys in height, with a high occupancy and little space.

Architectural influences from the 20th century are limited, and restricted to a few points.

The Rua do Barão is one of the streets of the Freguesia da Sé, which begins at the Rua São João da Praça (where once stood the Door of the Alfama) and ends at Rua Augusto Rosa (at the Cathedral’s walls). The toponym “Rua do Barão” is due to the fact that João Fernandes da Silveira, the first Baron of Alvito, minister of Portuguese kingsDom Afonso V and Dom João II, lived here.

During the times of Moorish domination, Alfama constituted the whole of the city, which later spread to the West (Baixa neighbourhood). Alfama became inhabited by the fishermen and the poor, and its condition as the neighbourhood of the poor continues to this day. The great 1755 Lisbon Earthquake did not destroy the Alfama, which has remained a picturesque labyrinth of narrow streets and small squares. Lately the neighbourhood has been invigorated with the renovation of the old houses and new restaurants where Fado—Portuguese typical melancholy music—can be enjoyed.

Overlooking the Alfama is the mediaeval Castle of São Jorge, royal residence until the early 16th century and now offering the best views of the city. In the slopes of Alfama there are other terraces (miradouros) from which to see the city, like the Miradouro de Santa Luzia, near the church of the same name and over remnants of the Moorish city walls, and the Miradouro das Portas do Sol (Gates of the Sun). Near Miradouro of Santa Luzia is located the Museum of Decorative Arts (Museu de Artes Decorativas), a 17th-century mansion with magnificent interiors.

Among the churches of the Alfama are Lisbon Cathedral (12th–14th centuries), the oldest of the city and located to the West of the neighbourhood, the Convent of the Grace (Convento da Graça, 18th century), near the Castle, the mannerist Monastery of São Vicente de Fora (late 16th–18th century), where the Kings of the House of Braganza are buried, and the baroque Church of Santa Engrácia (17th century), now converted into a National Pantheon for important Portuguese personalities.

From 2012, Alfama is part of the freguesia of Santa Maria Maior.

The Carmo Convent is located in the Chiado neighbourhood, on a hill overlooking the Rossio square and facing the Lisbon Castle hill. It is located in front of a quiet square (Carmo Square), very close to the Santa Justa Lift.

Nowadays the ruined Carmo Church is used as an archaeological museum (the Museu Arqueológico do Carmo or Carmo Archaeological Museum).

The Carmo Convent was founded as a convent for the Carmelite Order in 1389 by the Portuguese knight Nuno Álvares Pereira. Álvares Pereira was Constable of Portugal, meaning that he was the supreme military commander after the King. At the service of King John I, Álvares Pereira commanded the Portuguese army in the decisive Battle of Aljubarrota (1385), in which the Portuguese guaranteed their independence by defeating the Castilian army.

The Carmo Convent was initially inhabited by Carmelites from Moura (southern Portugal), which entered the convent in 1392. In 1404, the pious Álvares Pereira donated his wealth to the convent and, in 1423, he also became a brother of the convent.

On November 1, 1755, the great earthquake destroyed most of the convent and its church. The Convent library and its 5000 books were all lost. The convent was remodeled and eventually became a military quarter. The church was never fully rebuilt and, after a period as wood storage house, it was donated in 1864 to the Association of Portuguese Archaeologists, which turned the ruined building into a museum.

In the 20th century, during the Carnation Revolution, the Carmo Headquarters was the last stronghold of the Presidente of the Estado Novo, Marcelo Caetano, and the military loyal to him. The old Carmo Convent building is now used by the Republican Guard (Guarda Republicana).

The Carmo Convent and its Church were built between 1389 and 1423 in the plain Gothic style typical for the mendicant religious orders. There are also influences from the Monastery of Batalha, which had been founded by King John I and was being built at that same time. Compared to the other Gothic churches of the city, the Carmo Church was said to be the most imposing in its architecture and decoration.

The church has a Latin cross floorplan. The main facade has a portal with several archivolts and capitals decorated with vegetal and anthropomorphic motifs. The rose window over the portal is partially destroyed. The south side of the church is reinforced by five flying buttresses, added in 1399 after the south wall collapsed during the construction work. The old convent, located to the right of the facade, has been rebuilt in neo-Gothic style in the early 20th century.

The church interior has a nave with three aisles and an apse with a main chapel and four side chapels. The stone roof over the nave collapsed after the earthquake and was never rebuilt, and only the pointed arches between the pillars have survived.

The nave and apse of the Carmo Church are the setting for a small archaeological museum, with pieces from all periods of Portuguese history. The nave has a series of tombs, fountains, windows and other architectural relics from different places and styles.

The old apse chapels are also used as exhibition rooms. One of them houses notable pre-historical objects excavated from a fortification near Azambuja (3500–1500 BC).

The group of Gothic tombs include that of Fernão Sanches, a bastard son of King Dinis I, (early 14th century), decorated with scenes of boar hunting, as well as the magnificent tomb of King Ferdinand I (reign 1367-1383), transferred to the museum from the Franciscan Convent of Santarém. Other notable exhibits include a statue of a 12th-century king (perhaps Afonso Henriques), Spanish-Moorish azulejos and objects from the Roman and Visigoth periods.

In 1792, a group of Lisbon businessmen decided to finance the construction of a new Opera House in the city. The theatre was built in only six months following a design by Portuguese architect José da Costa e Silva, with neoclassical and rococo elements. The general project is clearly inspired by great Italian theatres like the San Carlo of Naples (interior) and La Scala in Milan (interior and façade). In the early 19th century, when the Portuguese Royal Court had to flee to the Portuguese colony of Brazil to escape the invading Napoleonic troops, a theatre modelled on the São Carlos was built in Rio de Janeiro.

The beautiful main room is elliptic, has five tiers of boxes and seats 1148 people. The luxurious royal box was lavishly decorated by the Italian Giovanni Appianni. The ceiling was painted by Manuel da Costa and the stage by Cirilo Wolkmar Machado.

The first opera presented here, in 1793, was La Ballerina Amante, by Domenico Cimarosa. The most famous Portuguese composer of the time, Marcos Portugal, became musical director of the São Carlos in 1800 after returning from Italy, and many of his operas were staged here.

Between 1828 and 1834, the São Carlos was closed due to the Portuguese Civil War, fought between kings Miguel I and Pedro IV. In 1850, the lighting of the interior was changed togas illumination, the latest technology available. Shortly afterwards, the Portuguese state bought the theatre from private investors. After a few failed attempts, electrical illuminationwas installed in 1887. From 1935 to 1940, the theatre was closed for repairs. In 1974 a resident opera company was established. In 1993, the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa was created as the Teatro’s affiliate orchestra.

Since 2010, the artistic director of the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos is Martin André. Since 2008, the principal conductor of the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa is Julia Jones.

It is a traditional shopping area that mixes old and modern commercial establishments, mostly located at the Carmo and Garrett streets. The most well-known café of Chiado is “A Brasileira”, famous for having had poet Fernando Pessoa among its customers, and today it is very popular among tourists. The Chiado is also an important cultural area, with several museums and theatres.

In 1988, the Chiado area was severely affected by a fire, when 18 buildings were partially or totally destroyed. Since then, owing to a renovation project coordinated by architectÁlvaro Siza Vieira that lasted for more than 10 years, the affected area has recovered and features the highest real estate property prices in Portugal.

The toponym Chiado has existed since around 1567. Initially the name referred to Garrett Street, and later to the whole surrounding area. The most widely cited possible origin for the name is related to António Ribeiro (c.1520–1591), a popular poet from Évora who lived in the area and whose nickname was “chiado” (“squeak”). A bronze statue of the poet, by sculptor Costa Mota (tio), was placed in the Chiado Square in 1925.

The Chiado has been inhabited since at least Roman times, when several villae were present in the area. During the Middle Ages it was used for agricultural purposes and it was in its vicinity that North European Crusaders settled during the Siege of Lisbon, in 1147. After the Christian reconquestof Lisbon, several convents were founded here: the St Francis Convent (1217), Espírito Santo da Pedreira (1279), Trindade Convent (1291) and theCarmo Convent (1398).

Between 1373 and 1375, during the reign of King Fernando I, a new city wall was built that encompassed part of present-day Chiado, favouring its urbanisation and settlement. The main gate (Portas de Santa Catarina) was located in the Chiado Square. In the 16th century, the area outside the city walls (present-day Bairro Alto) was also urbanised. The gate and walls were demolished in the early 18th century. The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake greatly affected the area, destroying houses, churches and convents. The rebuilding plan organised by the Marquis of Pombal included the Chiado, and new streets were opened to link the area with the Baixa Pombalina. New churches we rebuilt in Rococo-Baroque style, like the Mártires Church, Encarnação Church and the Loreto Church, the latter belonging to the Italian community of Lisbon.

In the 18th and, especially, in the 19th century, a great number of important commercial establishments opened in the Chiado, turning it into a favourite shopping area. Some of them exist to this day, like the “Bertrand Bookshop” (opened 1747) and “Paris em Lisboa” (garment shop opened 1888). In 1792, Lisbon’s opera house, the Teatro Nacional São Carlos, was inaugurated, attracting the cultural elite of the city, and other theatres were opened in the 19th century (Trindade Theatre, S. Luís Theatre). Museums were also created, like the Archaeological Museum in the former Carmo Church and the Museum of Contemporary Art in the former St Francis Convent (now Chiado Museum). The cafés and theatres in the area were a meeting point for the aristocracy, artists, and intellectuals at least until the 1960s. It eventually became a beloved touristic site thanks to its picturesque streets and squares, cultural attractions, cafés and shops.