'Rossio???' - asks the tourist, probably lost in... Rossio

 

Rossio or D. Pedro IV Square?

“The funniest mystery about Lisbon is this: why do some streets and squares have two names? Rossio is also Praça Dom Pedro IV, butno-one calls it that;  Terreiro do Paço is «officially» Praça do Comércio; Campo de Santana «became» Campo dos Mártires da Pátria. Across the decades or even centuries, some of the place names in Lisbon were changed, but the Lisbonese didn’t go along with it and continued to use the original designations. As my grandfather used to say, that’s how you can tell who’s from Lisbon and who’s not. People from outside Lisbon use the name Praça do Comércio instead of Terreiro do Paço, and the same applies to Rossio, Campo de Santana and other places”.

                         ROSSIO IN YHE 1960’S