CASA DOS BICOS
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Old property with a documentation center and an archaeological center with free access on the first floor.
It is one of the most representative examples of 16th century civil architecture in Lisbon. The "House of Points" owes its name to its strange facade carved in diamond points (not real ones, come on!). This former property of the Viceroy of India, Afonso de Albuquerque (conqueror of Goa, known for his tolerance), was built in 1523, on the model of the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara (Italy). She was part of this movement to build closer to the river. Unfortunately, it was badly damaged in the 1755 earthquake and lost the last two floors. It was only in the 1980's that it was restored to its original height and nobility. In 2008, the municipality ceded the two upper floors to the José Saramago Foundation. This renowned writer, the only Portuguese winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, is known for his fantastic and pessimistic novels in the best tradition of Portuguese literature. When he died (in 2010), his ashes were deposited under a nearby olive tree. There you can visit an exhibition and a documentation centre dedicated to the Portuguese intellectual. On the ground floor there is an archaeological centre (free access) which is part of the Museu de Lisboa and which contains, among other things, remains of the old Moorish and Fernandine walls of Lisbon. It was during archaeological excavations in the area near the river that many remains were discovered, which motivated the town council to create this centre.
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