São Bento train station is born of the will to connect the regions of Douro and Minho, anyone can see their names at the building's ceiling.
The space where it now exists there used to be a monastery for benedictine nuns, the station kept the name on the new building that was designed by the native Porto, José Marques da Silva, one of the most important names of the 19th century. The more perceptive ones can find their name in some of the more iconic buildings of the town.
The station of S. Bento is inspired by the Gare d'Orsay in Paris, and was enriched with the 20.000 tiles by Jorge Colaço.
The tiles illustrate the evolution of transport and represent daily scenes of the Douro and Minho, namely a procession, a fair and a market. Among the most important illustrations are some key moments in the history of Portugal.
On the north side the first lower panel shows one of the legends of the foundation of Portugal in which Egaz Moniz presents himself to the King of Castela in payment of a broken promise. The panel above shows the tournament of Arcos de Valdevez, that originated the treaty of Zamora and that defined the borders between Portugal and Spain in 1143.
On the south wall are the representations of the second dynasty of Portugal. The top panel is depicted the marriage celebrated in the Cathedral of Oporto, by D. João I of Portugal with D. Filipa de Lencastre. In the lower panel the representation of the conquest of Ceuta by the Prince of Portugal, Prince Henry the son of King John I, was born in the old customs of Oporto, now the Casa Museu do Infante.
It is currently considered one of the most beautiful stations in the world.
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