The human presence in Carnide is registered from Neolithic. But it was in the Twelfth century, by the time of the foundation of the kingdom of Portugal, that Carnide had assumed its agricultural character which is maintained until today.

Plan: Júlio A. V. da Silva Pinto, 1908
Lisbon, Municipal Archive (AML)
In a topographical plan from the beginnings of the Twelve century (vd. above), the old urban core, on the right, is surrounded by a great extension of farms, in green, some of them persisting until now.

In thirteen forty-two, the first parish was recognized with the church of Saint Lawrence foundation. The old building, with an attached cemetery, was destroyed by the seventeen fifty-five earthquake. Only a few medieval traces remain, integrated in the actual building.
The cult of the Holy Spirit, widespread during the 13th century, originated an important pilgrimage and an annual procession. In the surroundings, there was the Machada immersion fountain, whose waters were renowned for its healing properties.

In the 16th century, beside the Machada fountain, the Princess D. Maria, daughter of king D. Manuel, ordered the construction of a new church dedicated to Our Lady of the Light and, adjacent to it, a large building to house the brotherhood, who provided support to the residents and the pilgrims.

In: Pereira, L. G., & Vieira, S. A. (1927). Monumentos sacros de Lisboa em 1833. Lisboa: Of. Gráficas BN.
The church of the Light, built in the second half of the 16th century, was designed by Jerónimo de Ruão, the same architect who designed the main chapel of the Hieronymites Monastery, one of the most touristic monuments in Lisbon. Only the main chapel, with its monumental mannerist reredos, and the transept remains of the original building, also strongly hit in 1755. The south façade integrates the Machada fountain.

Foundation: 16th century (second half)
The urban core was being transferred to the nucleus church/hospital, setting the distinction with the surrounding areas remaining rural, conducive to setting up convents of cloisters and contemplative orders.
Two of the most relevant architectural complexes are the convents of the Order of Discalced Carmelite: the Convent of Saint Teresa, founded in sixteen forty-two, on the outskirts of the old Carnide, to the female branch, and the Convent of Saint John of the Cross, founded in sixteen eighty-one, which could accommodate about six hundreds friars. These are some of the most relevant tile panels painted blue on white, which are an important feature of the Portuguese barroc art.

Foundation: 1642

Unknown author, 18th century. Lisbon, Carnide, Convent of Saint Teresa
At one end of the core, taking advantage of the ground, a small rural market has been held, beginning a new social central point which has been converted into a square provided with a bandstand.
The bandstand square, with small restaurants and terraces, is the centre of the historical site and the most dynamic point of Carnide, attracting foreign visitors, also seduced by the authenticity of the surroundings.

Foundation: 1844-45
This authenticity could be linked to remaining traces of unspoilt rurality, like the old urban clusters, small squares and narrow streets small houses, or palaces, all of them being a living document from the past, or the “azinhagas”, a narrow way between the farms and along the walled lanes.



And, even, a public washhouse, which activity remains unchanged and where the washerwomen still wash clothes by hand in the old way.


The intangible heritage focusses on two moments: the procession and the fair. Both of them are linked to the secular pilgrimage, held annually in September and with great projection in the region since the seventh century. The procession day is the best attended, but there is a separation between the fair and the church, or between the noise from the multiple tents and the silence or the religious prayers and choirs.

September 2015
The fair occupies the space adjacent to the church of the Light. There are about a hundred stallholders selling knick-knacks, pottery, basketry, clothing, fritters, sweets, barbecued pork and chicken and wine and beer.

The procession occurs on the last Sunday of September, culminating a month of local festivities. Along the ceremonial walk, there are more or less explicit marks that create a separation from daily life, understood as profane time, like the bedspreads hanging over the windows and balconies along the route. One of those marks is the people’s appropriation of the procession: those who participate, integrated in the wards, praying the Rosary or carrying lighted candles; those who oversee, imposing silence and fulfilling known standards; those who watch, looking at who practices the ritual.

27 September 2015

27 September 2015
Carnide reflects the features presented by the literature about the peripheral areas, even considered as a “pleasure periphery”, unspoilt by tourism, but in a recognizable process of changing, by the arriving of a new population around the old core.
Topographical plan PT/AMLSB/CMLSB/UROB-PU/05/03/ retrieved from; http://arquivomunicipal2.cm-lisboa.pt/X-arqWeb/