The building of Casa das Varandas, now known as “Varandas de Lisboa,” dates back to the 16th century and was mentioned in a letter by King Manuel I, dated 1508. It is located on Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, previously known as Rua dos Confeiteiros until 1859 due to the abundance of sweet shops. The street later adopted its current name thanks to the flourishing codfish trade in the area.
The Varandas de Lisboa building stands on a site once occupied by the defensive wall of Lisbon’s old city, the so-called Cerca Velha or Cerca Moura. According to the historian Augusto Vieira da Silva, this wall stretched approximately 1,250 meters in length, measured 2 to 2.5 meters thick, and enclosed around 15.6 hectares. Including surrounding areas, the fortified zone of Al-Ushbuna(Arab Lisbon) likely covered some 30 hectares. It is believed that major renovations took place during the 1740s, under the supervision of D. Rodrigo de Menezes.
After the 1755 earthquake, which severely damaged Lisbon, only the stonework of the shops, the upper floors, and three stories with nine iron-railed balconies remained intact. The building was reconstructed in 1761 by Francisco Crespo. Following a fire in 1781, a major renovation was carried out between 1803 and 1805 by Domingos José de Sousa, adding two new floors and attic rooms. These new levels, joined by a continuous rectangular balcony, connected buildings no. 6 and no. 8, preserving existing walls and decorative elements.
In 1984, the current owners acquired the Casa das Varandas building. A major renovation project began in 2009, carefully preserving the Pombaline architectural features, including stone arches and the characteristic gaiola pombalina, a wooden anti-seismic structure embedded in masonry walls — a technique pioneered in the Baixa Pombalina district after the 1755 earthquake.
Facing the main façade is today’s Campo das Cebolas square. After renovations in 2018, this area became a welcoming public space, previously known as Praça da Ribeira Velha, which hosted one of Lisbon’s main fish markets for over 200 years.
