Arco da Rua Augusta

After the great earthquake of 1755 destroyed much of Lisbon, the lower town was rebuilt on a new plan, and an arch was planned as the gateway between the riverside Praça do Comércio and Rua Augusta. The structure was first conceived as a bell tower and later redesigned as an elaborate triumphal arch. Work dragged on for more than a century, and the arch was only completed in 1873.

The stone arch rests on six columns about 11 metres high, and Portugal's coat of arms fills the space at its centre. At the crown, the French sculptor Célestin Anatole Calmels made the allegorical group of Glory rewarding Valour and Genius. Below it, Victor Bastos carved statues of four figures from Portuguese history: Nuno Álvares Pereira, the Marquis of Pombal, Vasco da Gama and Viriathus, flanked by reclining figures representing the rivers Tagus and Douro.

Visitors can climb to the top of the arch, where a viewpoint gives 360-degree views over Praça do Comércio, the Baixa and the Tagus waterfront, with Calmels' sculptures close at hand.