The  Stairs Codeçal  is a street layout in the parish of the Cathedral of Oporto in Portugal.

It is one of the most picturesque corners of what is commonly called the "Old Port". Of note is the Chapel of Our Lady of Patronage built in the eighteenth century.

From Ribeira to Sé there are 496 steps away

Codeçal is the spelling of the place name today, allegedly because it is derived from  laces  (ie, thunder, hiding). However, another interpretation is that it is more appropriate to write  codessal , that is, a place where codesses grow   (yellow-flowering shrubs of the legume family, spontaneous in Portugal).

 



 

A place not to be missed

The origin of the stairs is lost in time. This steep staircase was, in medieval times, the round way of the Fernandina do Porto Wall, establishing the connection between the Santa Clara Convent and the sand wall of the wall, already along the Douro River.

One of the best known monuments of the Codeçal stairs is the Iron Recollection, which initially existed in a recess in Escura Street, in front of the quiver. However, since from the windows of that prison it was possible to search everything that happened inside the retreat, it was decided to move it to a more suitable place. The Codeçal was the place chosen, thanks to the free transfer of land by a benefactor in 1729, which, however, imposes as a condition that the collection took by patron Saint Mary Magdalene and dedicated to receive "all those women who, repentant. of the bad life and dissolute customs of the world, if they wished in that Gathering. " Therefore, the institution became known by the name of Collection of Our Lady of Sponsorship and Santa Maria Magdalene. But as a rule,

The construction of the church and the retreat in that airy place, overlooking the river, began in 1752 and was not without its setbacks, lasting for several decades. In the mid-nineteenth century, Henrique Duarte and Sousa Reis wrote that the recollection was intended "to the closure of ladies and girls that their superiors, by public or private convenience, understood to have to remove from the century and that in it [recollection] judicial deposits were also made. of wives, when it is necessary ... "We know, for example, that two daughters of the painter João Glama lived in the gathering. In the late twentieth century, with the need to adapt to new times, the former Iron Recollection began to function as the Social Center of the See, a social solidarity institution that provides support to the local community.

In the 1880s, the construction of the upper deck of the Louis I bridge required some demolitions to build the bridges supporting pillars. Already in the twentieth century, the widening of the traffic flow path of the lower deck of the same bridge and the subsequent construction of the Ribeira tunnel forced the demolition of the final section of the stairs of Codeçal. The Codeçal stairs were the object of a restoration program within Porto 2001 - European Capital of Culture

 



 

Escadas do Codeçal is a street in the parish of Sé in Porto, Portugal. It is one of the most picturesque corners of what is commonly called the "Old Port". Of note is the Chapel of Our Lady of Patronage built in the eighteenth century. History Codeçal is the spelling of the toponym today, allegedly because it derives from laces (ie, thunder, hiding place).

However, another interpretation is that it is more appropriate to write codessal, that is, a place where codesses grow (yellow-flowering shrubs of the legume family, spontaneous in Portugal). The origin of the stairs is lost in time. This steep staircase was, in medieval times, the round way of the Fernandina do Porto Wall, establishing the connection between the Santa Clara Convent and the sand wall of the wall, already along the Douro River. One of the best known monuments of the Codeçal stairs is the Iron Recollection, which initially existed in a recess in Escura Street, in front of the quiver.

However, since from the windows of that prison it was possible to search everything that happened inside the retreat, it was decided to move it to a more suitable place. The Codeçal was the place chosen, thanks to the free transfer of land by a benefactor in 1729, which, however, imposes as a condition that the collection took by patron Saint Mary Magdalene and dedicated to receive "all those women who, repentant. of the bad life and dissolute customs of the world, if they wished in that Gathering Therefore, the institution became known by the name of Collection of Our Lady of Sponsorship and Santa Maria Magdalene. But, as a rule, it continued to be known simply as Iron Pickup, just as it was on Dark Street.

 

The construction of the church and the retreat in that airy place, overlooking the river, began in 1752 and was not without its setbacks, lasting for several decades. In the mid-nineteenth century, Henrique Duarte and Sousa Reis wrote that the recollection was intended "to the closure of ladies and girls that their superiors, by public or private convenience, understood to have to remove from the century and that in it [recollection] judicial deposits were also made. of wives, when it takes ... "

We know, for example, that two daughters of the painter João Glama lived in the gathering. In the late twentieth century, with the need to adapt to new times, the former Iron Recollection began to function as the Social Center of the See, a social solidarity institution that provides support to the local community. In the 1880s, the construction of the upper deck of the Louis I bridge required some demolitions to build the bridges supporting pillars. Already in the twentieth century, the widening of the traffic flow path of the lower deck of the same bridge and the subsequent construction of the Ribeira tunnel forced the demolition of the final section of the stairs of Codeçal.

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