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Praça da Figueira

Square in Lisbon's Baixa, a short step from Rossio, surrounded by four-storey buildings put up after the 1755 earthquake. Before the quake the site was occupied by the Royal Hospital of All Saints; with the Pombaline reconstruction it became the city's main market and was known by names such as Horta do Hospital, Praça das Ervas and Praça Nova. A covered market was built in 1885 and demolished in the 1950s, and the City Council fixed the current name on 28 August 1950. In the centre stands the bronze equestrian statue of John I of Portugal, by the sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida, unveiled in 1971; the pedestal, with medallions of Nuno Álvares Pereira and João das Regras, was designed by the architect Jorge Segurado. Rossio metro station has a direct exit onto the square, and tram 15 to Belém departs from here.

Things to do at Praça da Figueira: 3 missions

• Walk round the equestrian statue of John IWalk round the pedestal of the bronze statue of John I, by Leopoldo de Almeida (1971), and find the medallions of Nuno Álvares Pereira and João das Regras.
• Count the storeys of the façades around the squareStand in the middle and check that the buildings around the square have four floors, as the reconstruction after 1755 required. Photograph one whole side.
• Find the tram 15 stopLook for the terminus stop of tram 15, the one that goes to Belém, in the square and photograph a tram with the square behind it.

Near Praça da Figueira

Source: Wikipedia - Praça da Figueira