Category: Nature > Garden
District: Lisboa > Lisboa > Lisboa > Madalena
Located in the São Bento area, in Lisbon, this garden is situated near well-known buildings such as the Assembly of the Republic and the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão (ISEG). It is a public space, with free access, bordered by streets such as Calçada da Estrela and Rua das Francesinhas.
This place is often referred to by Lisbon locals by other names, namely Jardim das Francesinhas or Jardim de São Bento.
The land where the garden now extends has an interesting history. In times past, it housed the Convento das Francesinhas. After the demolition of this religious structure, the site had a different use than one might expect.
In the 1930s, a unique theme park was installed there, called 'Lisboa Antiga'. This space recreated, in miniature, a typical neighborhood of the city of yesteryear, precisely evoking the time of the nuns who lived there. It was a great success at the time, before being transformed into the garden we know today, in the following decade.
With a predominantly geometric layout, the garden offers different points of visual interest. In the center, the sculpture 'A Família', created by Leopoldo de Almeida, draws attention, which rises on a pedestal that is part of a fountain structure.
In addition to the artistic component, the space also serves as a place of homage. Two distinct memorials are found here: one dedicated to the memory of the mathematician and professor Bento de Jesus Caraça, and another that pays tribute to the legacy of the musician and poet José Afonso, a prominent figure in Portuguese culture.
An interesting detail to observe is a tile panel located next to one of the staircases, which offers a representation of the urban landscape of the São Bento area as it would have been seen in the 18th century.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 38.7117582,-9.1358405
Coordinates DMS: 38°42'42.3"N 09°08'9.0"W
Weather Lisboa
On-duty Pharmacy Lisboa
