THE YEAR 1755 was a very bad year for Lisbon – an earthquake, tsunami and fire destroyed the city.
Between 60,000 and 90,000 people died, 85 per cent of the city, including most of its churches was destroyed.
Europe was in shock – one of its largest cities with a population of 250,000 was in ruins.
The year 1758 was a very good year for Lisbon, particularly for its architects who were given carte blanche to go back to the drawing board and design an entire city from scratch in what was one of the first planned communities.
The architects’ suggestions ranged from abandoning the city altogether and building it somewhere else, rebuilding the old medieval city, or designing an entirely new city of wide streets and open squares.
The third option was chosen
 The President of Lisbon Câmara, Antonio Costa, being shown around the exhibition, Baixa de Lisboa – the Rebuilding of a City. |
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and it’s hard today to appreciate just how innovative and cutting-edge the architecture and the way the buildings were designed constructed and laid out, was at the time.
Flexible
Everything was thought of – buildings should be made of stone, less likely to fall victim to fires.
The interior framework had to be of a flexible timber construction called ‘gaiola’ or cage construction, inspired by shipbuilding, which in the event of further earthquakes would reduce the impact of damage.
The whole downtown area of the city was built along a grid system and the wider streets made it easier for tradesmen and residents to get around so avoiding traffic jams from carts and carriages.
Lisbon would no longer be just a Royal city but a mercantile one to encourage trade and the growth of the Portuguese middle class.
The most comprehensive exhibition to date on the evolution and development of Lisbon has finally opened in the city’s Páteo da Galé (next to the Tourist Board office).
Featuring original architects’ plans and drawings, paintings and historical documents, the exhibition offers a fascinating insight into Lisbon before, during and after the Great Earthquake of 1755.
What: Baixa de Lisboa – the Rebuilding of a City
Where: Páteo de Galé
When: Until November 1, 2009.
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