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>>> arduamente subirem mais de uma centena de apertados degraus, receberam o prémio: uma vista deslumbrante! A Sul, abre-se a harmoniosa Praça do Comércio, com as suas arcarias regulares e a estátua equestre do rei D. José (da autoria do escultor Machado de Castro), espraiando-se nas águas
tranquilas do Tejo. Os cacilheiros atravessam o rio até à Outra Banda, as gaivotas esvoaçam”trazendo o céu de Lisboa”, como canta o poeta. A Norte, o visitante recebe o impacto do espírito geométrico e determinado do Marquês de Pombal. É verdadeiramente neste lugar que se percebe a modernidade da Lisboa Pombalina. •
After the earthquake of 1755 that destroyed Lisbon, it was through the admirable iron will and calm of the minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo (later made the Marquis de Pombal), allied to a cleverly designed plan, that a new and modern city grew out of the ashes.
E
ugénio dos Santos – a captain in the Engineers – was the man behind the plan chosen by Pombal for its reconstruction. In it, the main part of the city was re-designed: the two most important existing squares were preserved – Rossio and Terreiro do Paço, where the utterly destroyed royal palace had once stood – and between them a grid of longitudinal and transversal streets intersecting at right angles was built. The importance of these streets is expressed by their width. The former Terreiro do Paço, re-named Praça do Comércio by the Marquis, was designed to be a stage open to the Tagus that could dignify the new city being created. Eugénio dos Santos’s plan included a triumphal arch at the north end of the square that would give access to the city via a central street leading all the way to Rossio. This arch shall forever be known as the “Arco do Triunfo da Rua Augusta” (Triumphal Arch of Rua Augusta). However, it was only finished much later, in 1873, and eventually built by public subscription, as described on the monument itself. The Arco da Rua Augusta does not have any of the elegance and sobriety characteristic of Pombal-era (pombalina) Lisbon. Rather it was inspired by late Romanticism, principally in the upper section of the monument. Its design was the work of the architect Veríssimo José da Costa. The allegorical group that surmounts the arch was by the sculptor Calmels
(a long-time French resident in Portugal) and depicts Glory crowning Genius and Valour. Under the group can be seen the inscription “Virtutibus Maiorum ut sit omnibus documento PPD”. Just below can be seen important figures from the history of Portugal: Nuno Álvares Pereira and Viriato (to the left), Vasco da Gama and the Marquis de Pombal himself (to the right). Semireclined, one on either side and concluding the series of statues on the arch, can be seen two figures representing the Tagus and Douro rivers. These statues were created by the sculptor Vítor Bastos. It is a great shame that it is not possible to visit the inside of the arch and climb to its top. It is yet another monument off limits to the public, as, unfortunately, so many others in this country. The fortunate few who were once able to, after an arduous climb up more than a hundred narrow steps, were given their reward: a stunning view over the city! To the south, the harmonious Praça do Comércio opens out, with its regular arcades and statue of King Dom José astride a horse (by the sculptor Machado de Castro), stretching into the calm waters of the Tagus. The ferries cross the river to the far bank and the seagulls hover, “forming Lisbon’s sky”, as a poet once wrote. To the north, the visitor can see the impact of Pombal’s geometric thinking and determination. It is here that you truly begin to appreciate the modernity of Pombal-era Lisbon. • BAIx a con vida ·