Largo das Portas do Sol: The Gate of the Sun and Saint Vincent's Ravens
Why is it significant?
Walk to the balustrade and let the view come to you: the jumble of Alfama's roofs tumbling down to the river, the white dome of Santa Engrácia, the twin towers of São Vicente de Fora, and the wide, shining Tagus beyond. Behind you, a statue of a saint holds a little ship in his hand.
Key Facts
| Place | Largo das Portas do Sol: The Gate of the Sun and Saint Vincent's Ravens |
|---|---|
| Address | Largo das Portas do Sol, 1100 Lisboa, Portugal |
| Geo Coordinates | 38.71230, -9.13050 |
| Part of Walk | Saints, Sieges and Stairways: Alfama and the Castelo de São Jorge in Lisbon |
| Generated | Generated |
Walk to the balustrade and let the view come to you: the jumble of Alfama's roofs tumbling down to the river, the white dome of Santa Engrácia, the twin towers of São Vicente de Fora, and the wide, shining Tagus beyond. Behind you, a statue of a saint holds a little ship in his hand.
This square takes its name from a gate. The Portas do Sol, the Gates of the Sun, were one of the openings in the Moorish wall, and they faced east, towards the sunrise. The gate itself has gone, but a fragment of the old wall still stands at the edge of the square. For centuries, travellers coming up from Alfama passed through here to reach the castle quarter.
Now the saint. That is Saint Vincent, the official patron of Lisbon, a deacon martyred in Spain in the early fourth century. The legend says that his body was later laid to rest on the rocky cape in the Algarve that still bears his name, guarded by ravens. In 1173, King Afonso Henriques had the relics brought to Lisbon by ship, and the story goes that two ravens kept watch on the boat all the way. Look at the city's coat of arms on lamp posts and bins today... a ship with two black ravens. That is this story.
There is a lovely detail about those ravens. For a long time, people kept ravens around the cathedral, where the relics were held, and visitors in the past wrote about them hopping about the cloister. Lisbon took its legend quite literally.
The handsome palace on the square is the Palácio Azurara, home since 1953 to a museum of Portuguese decorative arts, all furniture, silver and tapestries. And the yellow tram that squeals past is the 28, climbing the same slopes it has climbed for a century. Now cross the road and climb the steep lanes uphill, a short but stiff ascent, to the gate of the Castelo de São Jorge, and walk straight up into the walled citadel at the very top.