This is a picture of Praça de D. Pedro IV in Lisbon, Portugal. Sarah, Gabe, Trevor, Shelley, Hannah, and I went to Lisbon this past weekend to soak in a little bit of the Portuguese culture. Lisbon is truly an enchanting city, and in my opinion is one of the hidden gems of Europe. The Praça de D. Pedro IV contains two fountains, a McDonalds, and an enormous statue. According to Wikipedia, Praça de D. Pedro IV, also known as Rossio, takes it’s namesake from both Pedro IV and from the Emperor of Brazil, Pedro I. This enormous statue is actually that of the Emperor of Brazil, Pedro I.  After the earthquake of 1755, all of the buildings within the Rossio had to be rebuilt; the only building that was not destroyed was the Palace of Independence*. Therefore, today all of the buildings existing in the plaza, except the Palace of Independence, date from the late 1700’s and forward*.  This plaza has been an important meeting place for the people of Lisbon for centuries*. Even its alternate name, “Rossio”, means “common” in English*. The plaza is called “common”, because it is a place owned by the common people*. I saw for myself while being there that this is still a bustling scene, filled with people of all classes and social backgrounds. It seems to be a place that every one in the city flocks to, also because it is in the center of many other popular destinations within Lisbon, such as Avenida da Liberdade, Pombaline Downtown, Praça da Figueira, and it even holds a beautiful view of the Castle of São Jorge.

 

*Information gathered, and reworded from Wikipedia.