Chiado: Lisboa’s Charming Quarter

PART OF Lisboa’s charm are the old shops around the city. Some are small and located in narrow streets. The Chiado quarter consists of a few main streets. Named after the writer and poet Almeida Garrett (1799-1854) is the Rua Garrett. The Rua do Carmo, Rua Serpa Pinto and Largo de Chiado are other streets in this quarter.

In August 1988 a fire started in Grandella, one of the large department stores. It took over twenty hours to extinguish the fire which totally destroyed the store.

Café Brasileira and Casa Havaneza

The most famous landmark in the Chiado is the Café Brasileira in Rua Garrett. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century this area was alive and buzzing.  It was a regular haunt for artists, writers, politicians, poets, including Portugal’s famous poet and writer Fernando Pessoa.  It  started as a shop first selling coffee imported from Brazil in 1905.

 

Fernando Pessoa’s statue outside the Casa Havaneza and Café Brasileira.

July 2023.

 

Henry Burnay established the Casa Havaneza  in 1864. It sold the finest tobacco in Lisbon.

Linen and Gloves – traditional shops

You can find fabrics and items for the home in Paris em Lisboa, at Rua Garrett, 77. It started in 1888.

 

 

 

 

A tiny shop in Rua do Carmo 87A is the Luvaria Ulisses which exclusively sells gloves. It has its own production and clients can order gloves made from any design.

 

Bookshops in the Chiado

Livraria Bertrand in Rua Garrett 73-75 is the oldest bookshop and publisher in the country. Pedro Faure established the shop in 1732. He married the young daughter of Frenchman Pierre Bertrand. The shop moved to their present location in 1773.
In the Rua Garrett, No. 100, is the Livraria Sá da Costa.
In 1840 Marie Theresse Férin founded Livraria Ferin, at Rua Nova do Almada, 70-74. King Pedro V appointed the bookshop as Binders for the Royal Libraries.  Art and historical works are the main subjects here.
A good place to browse if you like books and maps.

Fine Porcelain at Vista Alegre

 

 

 

 

 

Vista Alegre, renowned for fine porcelain, is at the Largo do Chiado, 20. The Vista Alegre factory, manufacturers of this fine procelain, started in 1824 by José Ferreira Pinto Basto.  Today it continues to be one of the producers of finest high quality porcelain with clients including banks and institutions.

Churches in the Chiado

There are a number of churches in the area. The Igreja da N. Sra. de Encarnação in the Largo do Chiado, 15,  dates to 1793. The Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Loreto dos Italianos was built originally in 1573. In 1755 the earthquake destroyed the church.  The Basilica da Nossa Senhora dos Mártires is at Rua Serpa Pinto, 10D.

In the area of Rua do Carmo is the Santa Justa Lift (Elevador de Santa Justa).  The lift takes you to the top giving good views of Lisboa. In the Rua Serpa Pinto No. 4 is the Chiado Museum – Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea – Museu do Chiado. It has a collection of sculpture and paintings, mainly by Portuguese artists.

Pat Rodrigues