My Escapes Portugal Another Lovely Trip to Portugal! Lisbon Dipping Into Lisbon The Casa dos Bicos and [...]

The Casa dos Bicos and My First Portuguese Ceramic Tile

The Casa dos Bicos is a very old house (dated around 1523), a survivor of the massive 1755 earthquake, which rocked and ruined much of Lisbon.
The unique design of the building and the colourful neighbourhood with palm trees made me visiting experience uplifting.

This historical attraction is in lower Alfama.

Its facade retains a mix of Renaissance and Manueline (which is considered Portuguese late Gothic) influence.

It survived the 1755 earthquake and its unique facade makes is a special attraction. Apart from that, the setting is exhilarating with palms and other nice buildings nearby.

I reached the house by strolling from Praça do Comércio, then I first came across this little park with beautiful palm trees (see the photos below).

The Casa dos Bicos is found on the Rua da Alfândega, behind this park.

With a stronger zoom, you can see parts of higher Alfama, including the the old Lisbon Sé.

I adore palms and behind them was the intricate Alfama neighbourhood. Further behind the buildings in the background is the São Jorge Fortress.

As I was busy taking photos of the place, a shady creep kept gravitating around me, cooking all sorts of proposals, but I kindly rejected him and quickly hurried across the road.

Beware of camera snatchers who use the "grab and run" technique.

As for Casa dos Bicos...

The result of my research concluded that it was probably built in 1523 by Brás de Albuquerque, the son of Afonso de Albuquerque - the first governor of Portuguese India.

It is believed that the facade features diamond-imitating elements, borrowed from Italian palaces.

Although the 1755 earthquake did not demolish it, the Casa dos Bicos got severely damaged.

Today, the José Saramago Foundation cultural institution and art museum functions in it.

After admiring the Casa dos Bicos in all its splendour, I bought myself a cute little ceramic tile...

Under very strong sunlight in the great heat, I wandered further to have a drink - at a Peruvian Bar.

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