São Bento Train Station

The São Bento Train Station (Portuguese: Estação de São Bento) is located in the city of Porto, in Portugal. Inaugurated in 1916, the historical station is known for its tile (azulejo) panels that depict scenes of the History of Portugal. It is located in the Almeida Garret Square, in the centre of the city.

History

The name of the station derives from a Benedictine monastery built on this spot in the 16th century. The monastery fell victim of a fire in 1783, was later rebuilt, but was in a grave state of disrepair at the end of the 19th century. In the context of an expansion of the railway system in Portuguese territory, King Carlos I laid the first stone of the station in 1900. The project was entrusted to Porto architect José Marques da Silva, who designed a building under the influence of French Beaux-Arts architecture.

Tiles

The most notable aspect of São Bento Station are the large, magnificent tile panels in the vestible. The tiles number 20 thousand, date from 1905-1916 and are the work of Jorge Colaço, the most important azulejo painter of the time.

The panels depict landscapes, ethnographic scenes as well as historical events like the meeting of knight Egas Moniz and Alfonso VII of León (12th century), the arrival of King John I and Philippa of Lancaster in Porto (1387) and the Conquest of Ceuta (1415).

References

• São Bento Station in the Portuguese Institute of Architectonic Heritage