This proposal from Caminhando consists of a walk to see some of the most emblematic fountains, resistant to the passage of time, which for more than 100 years were the main source of water supply in Western Lisbon. An area of the city that grew in urbanism, commerce and people from the 16th century onwards, on the banks of a salty river and thirsty for springs. Another event not to be missed!

Some more monumental, others functional or some already extinct, the fountains represent the culmination of the great public work of the Aqueduct, commemorated in 1748 with the entry of water into Lisbon at the Triumphal Arch of Amoreiras.

They were also key pieces in the Pombaline post-earthquake reconstruction, in which the Aqueduct resisted without shaking and whose solidity was thus proven. Finally, the fountains are a kind of artefact in the transition of times and the “quantum leap” that brought about the Industrial Revolution.

If on the one hand they prove the millennia-old use of gravitational force to extract and distribute water, inherited from Roman civilisation, on the other hand with the arrival of the steam engine, fountains fell into disuse

St Peter of Alcântara Viewpoint

We'll start our tour at the viewpoint of S. Pedro de Alcântara, which was even considered as a site for the construction of the Mãe d'Água reservoir. This would also be the starting point for the construction of an arcade, similar to the one in Vale de Alcântara, which would cross Rossio to give Graça a drink.

Wine Fountain

Before we get to Rato, we'll visit the old fountain that used to supply Praça da Alegria and which, in 1998, was converted into an enoteca and bar.

Rato Fountain

The baroque style Chafariz do Rato was the first fountain to be inaugurated. Although it sits unnoticed next to the wall of the gardens of the former Palácio de Palmela - now the Attorney General's Office, it was one of the fountains with the greatest flow and was the most popular, due to its direct connection to the Mãe d'Água reservoir.

St Mammes Arch and Monte Olivete Fountain

We'll pass by the Arco de S. Mamede Fountain and then visit the Monte Olivete Fountain, dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Fountain of Hope

On Avenida D. Carlos I we find the Chafariz da Esperança - classified as a national monument since 1910. Its verticality and expressive, frown-shaped spouts make it one of Lisbon's most emblematic fountains.

- Arco de S. Mamede - Chafariz do Monte Olivete - Chafariz do Monte Olivete - Chafariz do Vinho - Chafariz da Esperança - Bica dos Olhos - Chafariz de S. Paulo - Chafariz do Carmo - Other curiosities -