Bidspirit auction | DECRETO de criação da Praça

DECRETO de criação da Praça da Figueira em Lisboa para mercado de víveres. Lisboa, 1775. - DECREE creating the Praça da Figueira in Lisbon as a provisions market. [Lisbon, Régia Typografica Silviana, 23 November 1775]. Single folio leaf, [2] pp.; 280 mm. Official publication of the decree of 23 November 1775 by King José I. Recalling the ruined state of the former Royal Hospital of Todos os Santos after the earthquake of 1755, the king confirms the transfer of the hospital to the building of the former Jesuit college of Santo Antão and grants to the Senate of the Lisbon Câmara the extensive plot previously occupied by the hospital. The decree orders that, in place of the old streets and houses, a new square be opened “for fruit and vegetables”, with four fronts and appropriate streets, to serve as the city’s main food market, the Senate being responsible for the construction and administration of the site. A key document for the history of Pombaline Lisbon and, in particular, for the origins of Praça da Figueira as a major urban market.