Empress of the Ocean” : Lisbon in the 16th and 17th centuries in selected Portuguese works of the period

The purpose of this article is to present the image of Lisbon in the 16th and 17th centuries, based on works created during this period by Portuguese authors. The paper devotes most space to texts written by three renowned authors, namely Renaissance humanists Damião de Góis (1502–1574) and Francisco de Holanda (1517–1584), as well as Manuel Severim de Faria (1584–1655), a clergyman and intellectual of the Baroque era. The discussed works, rich in various contents, made it possible to show selected episodes and aspects related to Lisbon at that time, situating them against the historical background in both indicated centuries. The first of them brought great prosperity to Portugal and its capital due to geographical discoveries and overseas expansion, followed by years of stagnation, falling in the 17th century. The historical knowledge about the main city of the Portuguese kingdom and its transformations during the successive phases of that time are intertwined with the image of Lisbon transmitted in Portuguese writing of the period.