Santa Maria Maior () is a ''

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 ...

'' (civil parish) 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 ...

, the capital of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Located in the historic center of Lisbon, Santa Maria Maior is to the west of São Vicente, east of

Misericórdia Misericórdia () is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in the historic center of Lisbon, Misericórdia is to the east of Estrela, west of Santa Maria Maior, and south of Santo António. It is ...

, and south of Arroios and

Santo António Santo António (Portuguese for Saint Anthony), also known as Santo António do Príncipe, is the main settlement of the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies on the north east coast. It is the capital of the Autonomous Region ...

. It is home to numerous historic monuments, including

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 ...

, the

Rossio The King Pedro IV Square (), popularly known as Rossio (), is a square in the Pombaline Downtown of Lisbon, Portugal. It has been one of its main squares since the Middle Ages. It has been the setting of popular revolts and celebrations, bullf ...

, and the

Praça do Comércio The Praça do Comércio (; ) is a large, harbour-facing plaza in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, and is one of the largest in Portugal, with an area of 175 by 175 m (574 by 574 ft), that is, 30,600 m2 (329,000 ft2). Facing the Tagus () to the South, ...

, as well as famous neighborhoods, such as the Lisbon Baixa, as well as parts of

Bairro Alto Bairro Alto (; literally: ''Upper District'') is a central district of the city of Lisbon, the Portuguese capital. Unlike many of the civil parishes of Lisbon, this region can be commonly explained as a loose association of neighbourhoods, with no ...

and

Alfama The Alfama () is the oldest neighborhood of Lisbon, spreading on the slope between the São Jorge Castle and the Tagus river. The district includes the ''freguesias'' (parishes) of São Miguel, Santo Estêvão, São Vicente de Fora and part of th ...

. The population in 2011 was 12,822,Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE)
Census 2011 results according to the 2013 administrative division of Portugal

History

The parish was created by the administrative reorganization of Lisbon on 8 December 2012,Lei n.º 56/2012 (Reorganização administrativa de Lisboa)
''Diário da República'', 1.ª Série, n.º 216. Accessed 25/11/2012. from the incorporation of other 12 old small parishes: Mártires,

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, São Nicolau, Madalena, Santa Justa, Sé,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, São Cristóvão e São Lourenço, Castelo, Socorro, São Miguel and Santo Estêvão. The official name of the

comes from Cathedral of Santa Maria Maior, seat of the

Patriarchate of Lisbon The Metropolitan Patriarchate of Lisbon () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or patriarchal archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Its archiepiscopal see is the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major, ...

. The ''

Baixa The Baixa ("Downtown"), also known as the Baixa Pombalina (; "Pombaline Downtown"), is a neighborhood in the historic center of Lisbon, Portugal. It consists of the grid of streets north of the Praça do Comércio, roughly between the Cais do So ...

'' was built following the destruction of the 1755 Great Earthquake of Lisbon, under orders of King

Joseph I of Portugal '' Dom'' Joseph I (; 6 June 1714 – 24 February 1777), known as the Reformer (Portuguese: ''o Reformador''), was King of Portugal from 31 July 1750 until his death in 1777. Among other activities, Joseph was devoted to hunting and the opera. ...

's prime minister,

Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal Dom (honorific), D. Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal and 1st Count of Oeiras (13 May 1699 – 8 May 1782), known as the Marquis of Pombal ( ), was a Portuguese statesman and diplomat who Despotism, despotically ruled ...

, whose architects rebuilt the area in what is known as the Pombaline style.

Landmarks

neighborhood ** Pillory of Lisbon **

** Praça da Figueira **

Restauradores Square Restorers Square () is a public square in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. It is located at the southeast end of Avenida da Liberdade, near Rossio square. Details The square is dedicated to the restoration of the independence of Portugal in ...

** Queen Maria II National Theatre ** Santa Justa Elevator **

Lisbon City Hall The Lisbon City Hall (, ) is the seat of the Lisbon municipal government. The building is located in the City Square (''Praça do Município''), Santa Maria Maior (Lisbon), Santa Maria Maior, Lisbon. It houses the Lisbon City Council. Built in th ...

neighborhood **

Casa dos Bicos The Casa dos Bicos (; "House of the Beaks/Spikes") is a historical house in the civil parish of Santa Maria Maior, in the Portuguese municipality of Lisbon. The house, built in the early 16th century in the Alfama neighbourhood, has a curious f ...

** Santo António Church ** Igreja de Santa Luzia ** Largo das Portas do Sol * Castelo neighborhood **

São Jorge Castle São Jorge Castle (; ), sometimes known in English as Saint George's Castle, is a historic castle in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, located in the ''freguesia'' of Santa Maria Maior. Human occupation of the castle hill dates to at least the ...

References

Parishes of Lisbon {{lisbon-geo-stub