Lizbona i życie jej mieszkańców w pierwszej połowie XVIII wieku w świetle wybranych tekstów

The date of November 1, 1755, related to the disastrous earthquake that hit Lisbon, is a great turning point in the history of the Portuguese capital. The city, previously described many times by local and foreign authors with appreciation or even admiration for the numerous advantages of its space and the dynamics and color of life of its inhabitants, became the subject of touching texts, as well as engravings that suggestively depicted the destruction of Lisbon and its community, due to this drama, which deeply moved the European public opinion of that time with the enormity of material and human losses. In this article, we reach back to the period preceding the above-mentioned events in order to recall the image of the Iberian capital from the first half of the 18th century, based on selected sources written by Portuguese and foreign authors: historical and descriptive texts, press and memoirs. We also refer to the current shape of the city, which illustrates the visionary concept, realized in the second half of the 18th century, thanks to the Marquis de Pombal, who brought Lisbon back to life after the disaster.