500 years of the Casa dos Bicos

Casa dos Bicos is 500 years old. Although neither the exact date of its construction nor the architect who designed it is known, the year 1523 has been attributed as the probable date when construction began. To mark this anniversary, the Museum of Lisbon is organising a colloquium with national experts to present the latest proposals and discoveries about the building and Lisbon's old riverbank. 

The colloquium is organised in two strands. In one, historians and art historians will debate the context in which the House was created and the figure of its owner, Brás de Albuquerque (c. 1500–1581), the bastard son of Afonso de Albuquerque and first president of Lisbon's municipal senate; in the other archaeologists will convey the results of various excavations carried out in the area and the study of the materials recovered. 

After the closing lecture dedicated to how this House of Diamonds was portrayed in many views of Lisbon between the 16th and 20th centuries, there will be an opportunity to get to know the building and the José Saramago Foundation on a guided tour. 

The CTT philatelic collection dedicated to marking the 500th anniversary of the Casa dos Bicos will be presented during the event. 

 

PROGRAMME

09:00 AM - 9:30 AM • Reception of participants

09:30 AM -10:00 AM • Opening
Pedro Moreira, President of EGEAC, e Joana Sousa Monteiro, Director of the Museum of Lisbon

10:00 AM • Opening lecture • Brás Afonso de Albuquerque (c.1500–1580): patronage, travels and influences
Rafael Moreira, FCSH/UNL

10:30 AM • Spiked façades and the Renaissance in Europe
Nuno Senos, IHA of FCSH/UNL

10:50 AM • The Portas do Mar Riverside area
Carlos Caetano, IHA of FCSH/UNL

11:10 AM • Three excavations around Casa dos Bicos
Cláudia Manso, DGPC

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM • Debate

12:00 PM • Launch of the CTT/Casa dos Bicos philatelic series
Raul Moreira, Director of CTT Philately

12:30 PM - 02:30 PM • Lunch

02:30 PM • Casa dos Bicos in the 1980s, a glimpse of urban archaeology interventions in the former Sommer Warehouses
Clementino Amaro

02:50 PM • The Iron Age in Lisbon's Riverside area: the contributions of archaeological
Elsa de Sousa, Ricardo Ribeiro, Paulo Rebelo and Nuno Neto

03:10 PM • Roman contexts at Casa dos Bicos: 2010 intervention
Manuela Leitão and Victor Filipe 

03:30 PM • As muralhas romanas de Felicitas Iulia Olisipo. Estado da arte
Manuela Leitão, Ricardo Ribeiro, Paulo Rebelo, Helena Pinheiro, Nuno Neto, Vasco Leitão and Victor Filipe

03:50 PM • Roman spolia at Casa dos Bicos
Lídia Fernandes, Museum of Lisbon - Roman Theatre

04:30 PM • The Casa dos Bicos in Lisbon iconography from the 16th to the 18th centuries
José Manuel Garcia, Gabinete de Estudos Olisiponenses/CML

05:00 PM • Visit to the Casa dos Bicos and the José Saramago Foundation
Ana Paula Antunes and the team of Fundação José Saramago