Figueira Square Photo

Photographer’s Note

Hi TE friends

This is a square close to famous Rossio Square.

The Praça da Figueira is a large square in the centre of Lisbon, in Portugal. It is part of the Baixa Pombalina, the area of the city reurbanised after the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake.

In the 16th century the square did not exist, and most of its area was occupied by the Hospital Real de Todos os Santos (All-Saints Royal Hospital), the most important in the city. In 1755, after the great earthquake which destroyed most of Lisbon, the hospital was greatly damaged. It was demolished around 1775.

The large area previously occupied by the hospital in the Baixa was turned into an open market square. Around 1885, a large covered market of 8,000 m² was built. This market existed until 1949, when it was demolished. Since then the square has been an open space.

In 1971 a bronze equestrian statue representing King John I (1357-1433), by sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida, was inaugurated in the square. The monument also carries medallions with the effigies of Nuno Álvares Pereira and João das Regras, two key characters in the 1385 Revolution that brought John I to power.
In 1999/2000, during the last renovation of the square, the statue was relocated from the middle to a corner of the square, in order to make it visible from the Praça do Comércio. The original renovation project also called for the buildings to be completely covered with ceramic tiles (azulejos) by Daciano Costa, which has not been done.
The Praça da Figueira has a very uniform profile, with four-storey buildings dating from the rebuilding of the Baixa Pombalina. The buildings are occupied by hotels, cafés, and several shops. It is also an important traffic hub, with bus and metro stops. From Wikipedia

fanni, besnard, Budapestman, danos, ruisc_pt, jhm, JanD, windosil, PixelTerror, ymrk, Scharan, ChrisJ, azaf1, tempocativo, Didi has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

fanni (8889) 2009-05-11 1:49

Hello Aires,
I like this perspective view which looks quite "logical" to me: the long diagonal lines on the square go directly to the building in the BG - when you look at the photo your look inevitably goes straight to it. It's nice to see some birds and people on the square: they add life and fill in the empty space (the birds).
It seems to me that the equestrian statue is a little dark but, as far as I know, often there is not much we can do about dark statues when taking a photo which includes them :)
I also like the clouds which add a little dynamism to this scene.
Best regards,
Elena

besnard (31114) 2009-05-11 1:57

Bonjour Aires
Une très belle place entourée d'immeubles à l'architecture harmonieuse et élégante. L'angle de prise choisi donne une belle profondeur sur le dallage graphique.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

Budapestman (42876) 2009-05-11 1:59

Hi Aires,
Beautiful photo of this imposing square with spectacular composition and attractive details, the beautiful clouds adds a lot to the mood. Tfs! Have a nice week!
George

mikeo (12117) 2009-05-11 2:14

Hello Aires,

This building is impressive! Looks so well on the background of the sky. Don't know what makes feeling the photo goes a little bit on right...It's like illusion;)

TFS,
Greetings,
Mikeo

tober (4062) 2009-05-11 3:45

It is somehow one of the less photographed places in Lisbon, despite being located at the heart of the city. I especially liked the sky but the composition would be much better if the statue was on the right in the photo and there were some more people around.

Best regards, Tolga

danos (33330) 2009-05-11 3:52

Hello Aires,
nice presentation of this old 'corner', with its history to be enlarged until to 16th century,of the capital of Lisbon,with the impressive building to be the limit of the square,as the others to left and right.I like the nice combinations of colours as the management of the light.Well done.

Have a nice day,Danos

ruisc_pt (6209) 2009-05-11 4:22

Bem puxada esta Aires
Gostei do destaque que o edifício tem.. parece que salta ...em 3d
tfs

Nicou (45777) 2009-05-11 4:37

Hello,

merveilleux captage de ce beau bâtiment, il est mangigique, quelle perspective avec la place et les pigeons, superbe image.

braov et maitié

Nicou

TopGeo (22249) 2009-05-11 4:56

Hello Aires,I like this POV Picture that with the prospect the clouds the buildings and the statue gives a place in the composition that has interest image with the nice combinations of colours as the management of the light!
compliments
Georgios

jhm (83378) 2009-05-11 4:57

Hello Aires,

Thank you very much for your excellent note.
You show us here the Praça da Figueira, we see a large square in the centre of Lisbon.
I like the lovely architecture of the building in background.
Compositon and presentation are superb.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

JanD (15053) 2009-05-11 5:07

Howdy Aires!
Wonderful perspective, amazing shot. Very interesting monument. Excellent big tenement house.
Regards.

PixelTerror (86861) 2009-05-11 10:13

Ola Aires
A nic eimage of this building, the pavement lines are strong and in addition to their graphism give depth to your image.
Have a nice day JY

windosil (820) 2009-05-11 10:20

Very satisfying, the grid of lines take the eye to the lovely building. The white canopies are important, and the white wall, in the composition.
Maybe a wee bit unsharp - have you tried it with a small percentage of USM?
Best wishes,
Winifred

ymrk (9168) 2009-05-11 12:34

Ola Aires,
Magnificen clouds with loved of that outlook.Very well composed,have a good week

Yağmur

francio64 (11806) 2009-05-11 13:45

Ciao Aires,
bella immagine avvalorata prevalentemente dal cielo molto nuvoloso.
Ottima la prospettiva! I piccioni contribuiscono ad animare la scena.

Well done!
Francesco

emka (22389) 2009-05-11 14:14

hi aires, Nive view of the square. rather few people there and quite a lot of pigeons. Nice grafics of the lines of the pavement.

Regards

Malgorzata

Scharan (13955) 2009-05-11 14:18

Olá Aires

Bonita foto com bom ponto de vista e
cores harmoniosas. Interessantes os
detalhes do edifício.
Parabéns!
GA
Vera

barrufeto_77 (25943) 2009-05-11 14:41

Hola Aires.

Otra vez, un estupendo fondo que resalta el edificio.

Bien visto!

Un saludo!

ChrisJ (70443) 2009-05-11 17:19

Ola Aires

Good layering into horizontal thirds, utilising the compositional rule of thirds. Excellent colour & sharpness, with a good, informative note, that helps the viewer to understand what they're looking at. Parabens!

danyy (69499) 2009-05-12 0:03

Bonjour Aires,
une photo bien cadrée qui met ce bâtiment bien en valeur car tu l'as en entier et le monument devant d'ailleurs de gêne pas du tout.
Un POV avec l'éloignement qu'il fallait.
Un magnifique ciel aussi.
Amicalement.
Daniel.

azaf1 (15547) 2009-05-12 2:51

Good morning Aires

A very fine and detailed note with plenty of information about this really beautiful square. I really like the well preserved buildings that decorate the city and the great POV that releases a great view of the scene.

Have a lovely day and TFS
Argiris

argycon (2749) 2009-05-12 14:09

Very nice place Aires! The POV gives a fine prespective leading the eye to the historic building. Impressive clouds on the sky!
tfs
Kostas

mkamionka (4990) 2009-05-14 1:58

Hi Aires,
very pretty monumental square.
I like Lisbon already form your shots. The architecture is so unique. You presentations are like beautiful high quality postcards,
TFS,
M

tempocativo (439) 2009-05-14 14:36

Olá Aires, uma bela fotografia da praça da Figueira. Mais uma vez conseguiste um enquadramento diferente dos habituais que ficou muito bem.
Abraço
Paulo Borges

Didi (36516) 2009-06-06 7:53

Olà Aires
Je note ici une intéressante perspective qui guide le regard vers le centre du bâtiment.
Le soleil masqué donne un éclairage assez doux sur la place.
Amitiés

Photo Information

Copyright: Aires dos Santos (AiresSantos) (42964)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-05-10
Categories: Daily Life, Architecture
Camera: Nikon D40X, AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 GII ED, 52mm Hama Cicular Polarizer
Exposure: f/6.5, 1/250 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-05-11 1:34