José Saramago Foundation
In the 1523 Casa dos Bicos, the life and work of José Saramago, with Roman ruins and the Fernandine wall on the ground floor.
José Saramago Foundation – Casa dos Bicos
The Casa dos Bicos, on Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, was commissioned in 1523 by Brás de Albuquerque, son of the Viceroy of India Afonso de Albuquerque, after a journey to Italy, taking as its model the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara. Its façade of pointed stones earned it the name by which Lisbon knows it ("House of the Spikes"). Over the centuries it served private and public purposes, was even used as a salt-cod warehouse and, until 2002, housed the Commission for the Discoveries. Owned by Lisbon City Council, it has been the headquarters of the José Saramago Foundation since June 2012; the foundation, a private cultural institution set up by the writer himself in 2007, occupies the upper floors under a municipal agreement renewed in 2018. On the first floor, the permanent exhibition "As sementes e o fruto" (The Seeds and the Fruit) traces the life and work of the 1998 Nobel laureate through documents, manuscripts and a replica of his writing desk. On the ground floor is the archaeological section of the Museum of Lisbon (see the Casa dos Bicos entry), which displays traces of the earliest occupation of the site, a stretch of the Fernandine wall, Roman fish-salting tanks and remains of the Moorish wall. The house also hosts temporary exhibitions, concerts, talks and courses, and has a bookshop on the third floor.
Located at: Fundação José Saramago
Address: Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, 10, 1100-135 Lisboa
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 10:00-18:00 (last entry 17:30; closed on Sundays and on 1 Jan, 25 Apr, 1 May, 5 Oct and 25 Dec)
Phone: +351 218 802 040
Coordinates: 38.7091589, -9.1326355
Buses: 10B, 737, 728, 735, 759, 781, 782, 794, 706, 711
Tram: 12E, 28E, 15E, 25E
Metro: Terreiro do Paço (Blue), Baixa-Chiado (Blue, Green)
Train: Sintra Line, Rossio Station
Boat: Terreiro do Paço River Station
Opened: 2012 (14 years)
