The Alfama () is the oldest neighborhood of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, spreading on the slope between the São Jorge Castle and the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

river. The district includes the ''freguesias'' (parishes) of São Miguel, Santo Estêvão, São Vicente de Fora and part of the two streets, "Freguesia da Sé: Rua do Barão" and "Rua São João da Praça". It contains many important historical attractions, as well as an abundance of

Fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado ...

bars and restaurants.

Etymology

The name ''Alfama'' originates from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

''al-ḥamma'' (), meaning "

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s". The Arabic word comes from the

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

meaning "to heat" or "to become hot", from which the word

hammam A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited from the model ...

() also derives.

History

The Rua do Barão is one of the streets of the Freguesia da Sé, which begins at the Rua São João da Praça (where once stood the Door of the Alfama) and ends at Rua Augusto Rosa (at the Cathedral's walls). The toponym "Rua do Barão" is because João Fernandes da Silveira, the first Baron of Alvito, minister of Portuguese kings Dom Afonso V and Dom João II, lived here. During the times of Moorish rule, Alfama constituted the whole of the city, which later spread to the West ( Baixa neighbourhood). Alfama became inhabited by the fishermen and the poor, and its condition as the neighbourhood of the poor continues to this day. The

1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, All Saints' Day, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In ...

did not destroy the Alfama, which has remained a labyrinth of narrow streets and small squares. Lately the neighbourhood has been restored with the renovation of old houses and new restaurants where

is sometimes played. Overlooking the Alfama is the medieval Castle of São Jorge, royal residence until the early 16th century with views of the city. In the slopes of Alfama there are other terraces (''miradouros'') from which to see the city, like the ''Miradouro de Santa Luzia'', near the church of the same name and over remnants of the Moorish city walls, and the ''Miradouro das Portas do Sol'' (Gates of the Sun). Near Miradouro of Santa Luzia is located the Museum of Decorative Arts (''Museu de Artes Decorativas''), a 17th-century mansion. From 2012, Alfama is part of the

freguesia (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Portuguese over ...

of Santa Maria Maior.Lei n.º 56/2012 (Reorganização administrativa de Lisboa)
''Diário da República'', 1.ª Série, n.º 216. Acedido a 25/11/2012.

Landmarks

Among the churches of the Alfama are

Lisbon Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary Major ( or ''Sé-Catedral Metropolitana Patriarcal de Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa''), often called Lisbon Cathedral or simply the Sé ('), is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is the oldest ch ...

(12th–14th centuries), the oldest of the city and located to the West of the neighbourhood, the Convent of the Grace (''Convento da Graça'', 18th century), near the Castle, the

mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

Monastery of São Vicente de Fora (late 16th–18th century), where the Kings of the

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza (), also known as the Brigantine dynasty (''dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Americas. The hous ...

are buried, and the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Church of Santa Engrácia (17th century), now converted into a National Pantheon for important Portuguese personalities.

References

{{coord, 38, 42, 44, N, 9, 07, 48, W, source:ptwiki, display=title Districts of Lisbon