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The João Lisboa Square or Praça João Lisboa was initially called Largo do Carmo, due to the Nossa Senhora de Monte Carmelo Convent and Church, the square is linked to important historical facts of the city, such as the battle between the Dutch and the Portuguese.
It was the site of the city’s first fair or market, the first public shelter, and the pillory, destroyed after the Proclamation of the Republic.
In the past, the Square was the heart of São Luís, where intellectuals and politicians gathered to comment on city life and discuss art, politics and literature. During this period the place was also known as Praça da Liberdade.
On 22 March 2012, the bicentenary of the journalist, lawyer and critic João Francisco Lisboa, a man ahead of his time, was celebrated.
Not only did he report on the political and historical situation of Maranhão, but he did so under an approach considered by his scholars to be very current today with regard to journalistic, historiographical, political, literary, language, among others.
Praça João Lisboa em São Luís do Maranhão
Gonçalves Dias Square (Largo dos Amores) is a meeting place for lovers.
In São Luís, in the old Largo do Carmo, flanked by the streets of Sol, Paz and Egito, in the Centre, there is a square named after the Maranhão journalist, who received this name by municipal decree of 28 July 1901.
In João Lisboa Square, a large bronze monument with a marble pedestal was erected in honour of João Lisboa in 1918 by the French sculptor Jean Magrou.
The statue was first fixed in Largo do Carmo, and then moved to the current Square. Under this monument are the ashes of the illustrious patron of chair no. 11 of the Maranhão Academy of Letters.
In the past, the square was the heart of São Luís, where intellectuals and politicians gathered to comment on city life and discuss art, politics and literature.
During this period the square was also known as Praça da Liberdade. Trams also passed through there.
Being a very pleasant space, wooded and endowed with benches, today, João Lisboa still receives a large flow of people, much influenced by the movement of the buildings located around it, such as the Post Office and Telegraphs, for example.
Older men and retirees also frequent the square to read newspapers, like the monument, play checkers, feed pigeons or simply chat.
Tourism Guide to São Luís do Maranhão and the North-East
