Casa dos Bicos

Welcome to Casa dos Bicos, one of the most iconic and enigmatic buildings in Lisbon. Standing before this striking facade in the Ribeira district, you are looking at over five hundred years of architectural daring and two…

Let us begin by examining the remarkable exterior. The use of diamond-point masonry was a radical departure from the prevailing Manueline style of 16th-century Portugal. …

Descending into the ground floor, we enter the 'Núcleo Arqueológico.' Long before Braz de Albuquerque built his palace, this land was a bustling industrial zone for the Romans. Archaeologists discovered a series of…

To the right of the Roman tanks, you can see a massive stone foundation. This is a segment of the 'Cerca Velha' or Old Wall. …

The history of Casa dos Bicos was nearly cut short on November 1, 1755. The Great Lisbon Earthquake, followed by a massive tsunami and three days of fires, devastated the city. …

Before the earthquake, the area in front of the Casa dos Bicos was the 'Mercado da Ribeira Velha,' the city’s primary riverside market. For centuries, this was one of the most crowded and vibrant places in Lisbon. …

In 2008, the Casa dos Bicos entered its newest chapter as the headquarters of the Fundação José Saramago. José Saramago, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998, is one of the most significant figures in modern Portuguese…

As we step back out into the light of the Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, take one final look at those 1,125 stone spikes. We have journeyed through two thousand years of history in a single city block—from Roman fish sauce to Renaissance…