Restauradores Square
Encyclopedia
Restauradores Square is a public square in the city of Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. It is located at the southeast end of Avenida da Liberdade
Avenida da Liberdade (Lisbon)
Avenida da Liberdade is an important avenue in central Lisbon, in Portugal. It is a 90 metre-wide boulevard, 1100 m long, with ten lanes divided by pedestrian pavements decorated with gardens...

, near Rossio square
Rossio
The Rossio is the popular name of the Pedro IV Square in the city of Lisbon, in Portugal. It is located in the Pombaline Downtown of Lisbon and has been one of its main squares since the Middle Ages...

.

The square is dedicated to the restoration of the independence of Portugal in 1640, after 60 years of Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 domination. The obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...

 in the middle of the square, inaugurated in 1886, carries the names and dates of the battles fought during the Portuguese Restoration War
Portuguese Restoration War
Portuguese Restoration War was the name given by nineteenth-century 'romantic' historians to the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon . The revolution of 1640 ended the sixty-year period of dual monarchy in Portugal...

, in 1640.

The monument was designed by António Tomás da Fonseca, with statues symbolising "Independence" and "Victory" by sculptors Simões de Almeida and Alberto Nunes.

The rectangular square is surrounded by 19th and early 20th century buildings. The most remarkable are the Palácio Foz, a palace built between the 18th and 19th centuries and boasting magnificently decorated interiors, and the old Éden Cinema (now a hotel), with a beautiful Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 façade dating from the 1930s, a work by architect Cassiano Branco.

Also notable is the old Condes Cinema, built in 1950 by architect Raul Tojal in Modernist style. It now hosts the Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...

 of Lisbon.

See also

  • Avenida da Liberdade
    Avenida da Liberdade (Lisbon)
    Avenida da Liberdade is an important avenue in central Lisbon, in Portugal. It is a 90 metre-wide boulevard, 1100 m long, with ten lanes divided by pedestrian pavements decorated with gardens...

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