1506 Massacre Memorial & São Domingos Church

About This Activity

In April 1506, a mob murdered between 1,900 and 4,000 New Christians (conversos — Jews forced to convert) over three days, starting inside the Church of São Domingos. The 2008 memorial stone in Largo de São Domingos reads 'Lisbon, City of Tolerance' in 34 languages. Inside, the church itself bears dramatic fire scars from the 1959 blaze that destroyed its baroque interior, leaving exposed stone walls and charred pillars — an unintentionally powerful setting for reflecting on the violence that occurred here five centuries earlier. The adjacent Rossio square was also a site of Inquisition-era auto-da-fé ceremonies.

Seasonal note: Year-round; indoor site