Baixa Pombalina is a very well-planned area. It was rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake by Marquês de Pombal. It stands out for its geometric grid. Nowadays, people might be walking around the streets, and they might not notice, but the lamps tell a story as well about how the city was planned.

You can see lamps with 8 sides on main roads like Rua Augusta, usually places destined for nobles and big businesses. Streets with 6-sided lamps were for areas where you could find rich merchants. Finally, even smaller streets had only 4 sides, for craftsmen and daily workers.

On the contrary, big squares like Rossio got lamps with 12 sides. These were places where a lot of activities were happening; the big lamps symbolised exactly those places that were the heart of the city.

Baixa Pombalina hides many secrets, and the lamps are but one of many of them. Have you noticed the different lamp sides? What's your favourite spot in Baixa?