Grandi patrimoni crescono

The Cathedral of Lisbon has remained in progress until recent times, passing through earthquakes, additions and expansions, restorations, archaeological activities. Many of the actions aimed at satisfying the functional needs of temple and diocese management were concentrated within its cloister. During the twentieth century restorations, an attempt was made to attribute a medievalist stylistic character to an architecture and a space of its own nature, composite and incoherent and devastated by collapses and demolitions due to the great earthquake of 1755. Finally, an excavation campaign became necessary in 1990 and brought to light traces of ancient Lisbon. The functional program of the project by Adalberto Dias foresees much to make the history of the monument and of the place public and intelligible. A reading device for the strata brought to light by the excavations which allows to visit the archaeological remains, covering them without touching them, including all the equipment necessary for access and reception of visitors and the proper functioning of the museum program (vertical circulation, toilets, facilities). Everything is housed below the plan to cover the ruins. The only salient element is the elliptical prism of the staircase volume, the only sign of contemporary architecture clearly visible outside the shapes of ancient factories; a contemporary sign that interacts with history. Its position in the southeastern corner of the cloister contributes to rebalancing the composition of volumes that has remained detached from its southern side since the great earthquake of 1755.