Dom Pedro IV Square
In Dom Pedro IV Square—better known as Rossio—Lisbon once gathered at one of its main public spaces since the Middle Ages. The square was named after Pedro IV, King of Portugal, and the Column of Pedro IV stood in its middle, anchoring a place that had long been used for popular moments: revolts, celebrations, bullfights, and executions. The Rossio became especially important in the 13th and 14th centuries as the city’s population expanded below Lisbon Castle hill. Around 1450, the Palace of Estaus was built on the north side, and after the Inquisition was installed in Lisbon, it became the Inquisition’s seat; public executions, including the first auto-da-fé, took place there starting in 1540. On the eastern side, King John II ordered the All-Saints Royal Hospital in 1492, completing it in 1504 during King Manuel I’s reign. Even the word “rossio” carried meaning: it referred to commonly owned terrain, the civic “commons” of old Lisbon.
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