- São Bento Train Station
The São Bento Train Station (Portuguese: Estação de São Bento) is located in the city of
Porto , inPortugal . Inaugurated in 1916, the historical station is known for itstile ("azulejo ") panels that depict scenes of theHistory of Portugal . It is located in the Almeida Garret Square, in the centre of the city.History
The name of the station derives from a
Benedictine monastery built on this spot in the 16th century. The monastery fell victim of a fire in 1783, was later rebuilt, but was in a grave state of disrepair at the end of the 19th century. In the context of an expansion of therailway system in Portuguese territory, King Carlos I laid the first stone of the station in 1900. The project was entrusted to Porto architectJosé Marques da Silva , who designed a building under the influence of FrenchBeaux-Arts architecture .Tiles
The most notable aspect of São Bento Station are the large, magnificent
tile panels in the vestible. The tiles number 20 thousand, date from 1905-1916 and are the work ofJorge Colaço , the most important "azulejo " painter of the time.The panels depict landscapes, ethnographic scenes as well as historical events like the meeting of knight Egas Moniz and
Alfonso VII of León (12th century), the arrival of King John I andPhilippa of Lancaster in Porto (1387) and the Conquest ofCeuta (1415).References
* [http://www.ippar.pt/pls/dippar/pat_pesq_detalhe?code_pass=72342 São Bento Station in the Portuguese Institute of Architectonic Heritage]
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