São Bento Railway Station

About this place

Built in the early 20th century, this station turns railway travel into an encounter with Portuguese history. Jorge Colaço's extensive tile panels depict historical events and scenes of regional life. Pause in the entrance hall to read the images as a public story told through ceramics. The painted tiles cover a large area of the entrance hall and number around twenty thousand. Their combination of major events and scenes of everyday life offers a selective picture of national identity. The fact that these images greet railway passengers shows how public transport buildings could also serve as spaces of historical education.