to ensure the flow of traffic that used this bridge to access the city. This line is the one that has the biggest extension of underground tunnel, of about 7 km, crossing the entire city centre. The S. Bento Metro Station by Álvaro Siza Vieira was excavated from the surface, on five levels: the Surface Level, with accesses at Praça Almeida Garrett and Avenida D. Afonso Henriques, the latter imposing the extension of the sidewalks; the High Mezzanine level that connects to the high part of the city, facilitating the access to the areas of Sé and Batalha; the Low Mezzanine level, from which a connection is made between the elevators that communicate with the surface and with platforms 1 and 2; the Platform Level and the Sub-platform Level. The configuration and magnitude of Low Mezzanine are sometimes used to held cultural events, from exhibitions to concerts. The covering is made of handmade tiles from the factory Viúva Lamego, a mixture of eight shades of glass, where you can see here and there, discreetly, drawings by the architect Álvaro Siza.
If you look to Avenida D. Afonso Henriques, the same avenue that gives access to the upper part of Luís I bridge, you will see on top, on the right side, at Sé’s Hill, the austere silhouette of Sé do Porto picture 31, of a Romanesque style, built on the 12th century, but target of many interventions and additions that went on up to the 1940s. In front of it, challenging it, the tower-building of Casa da Câmara picture 32 arises. Originally built on the 15th century for a council meeting place, it comprised thick walls of granite finished off with battlements, was 100 palms high and was divided into two second floors. On the upper floor was the Senate Hall, on the second floor the hearing room and on the ground floor a warehouse. By the end of the 18th century, the building was already in eminent decay, forcing the City Hall to move to other rented spaces, until the acquisition of its own building. In 1875, the building was destroyed by a fire, remaining in ruins until 2000, the year when it was transformed, according to the project of Fernando Távora (1923-2005), in a “memorial to remind long years of life and
history of the city of Porto”. Finished in 2001, the current construction respects the sobriety of the first construction and the 100 palms of height, duly signalled on the outside. “Casa da Câmara” houses, since 2005, a Municipal Tourism Office. Fernando Távora, fundamental name of the architecture of Porto, was one of the founders of ODAM – Organização dos Arquitetos Modernos (Modern Architects Organization), in 1947, and is one of the greatest mentors of the so-called “School of Porto”, having been master and teacher of many and consecrated architects, among them Álvaro Siza. In front of the S. Bento Railway Station you can see another fine example of the Portuguese tilery art on the façade of Igreja dos Congregados. It is from here that you will start the path through Rua Sá da Bandeira, one of the streets that prove best the evolution of the city’s Modern architecture.