The miraculous waters of Lisbon: “Underneath the streets of Alfama there is a huge source of natural mineral water with geothermal potential”

The historical references to the Alfama springs are old: in the 10th century, in Arabic literature, baths next to the river became famous. “Bāb al-Hamma” (Gate of Alfama); in the 16th century authors such as Damião de Gois and João Brandão de Buarcos highlighted the “very many sources coming through underground channels” from which “the population obtains[ia] of water.” There were disputes over water and the demand was so great at Chafariz del Rey that it was necessary to establish a regime of precedence, depending on the nature and status of the users: men, women, slaves, free people, Moors, Jews or Christians, each group had its own water spout.

The popularity of some springs, to which popular belief attributed therapeutic virtues, it provoked real pilgrimages to the waters of Alfama. The call Fonte das Ratas it attracted thousands of people to the current Largo das Alcaçarias, crowds armed with bottles who jostled, night and day, hoping to enjoy the benefits of the precise liquid. When, in 1963, health authorities closed the fountain due to water contamination, the population protested vehemently.

In addition to public washing facilities, the abundance of water allowed the establishment of a variety of economic activities. One of the most surprising activities was the baths and changing rooms, called “alcaçarias”. Over the centuries they had names such as Baths of D. Clara, Doctor Fernando or Alcaçarias do Baptista, Conde or Duque, the latter officially closed as late as 1978.

In this episode of ‘Stories of Lisbon’, journalist Miguel Franco de Andrade talks to researcher Elsa Cristina Ramalho about the miraculous waters of Alfama.