Gardens, Parks and Forests

The Marcelino Mesquita garden, named after the dramatist, poet and writer, is in the Parish of S.Mamede.

 It was designed and inaugurated in 1759 by the Marquis of Pombal, with 331 mulberry trees. The intention was to stimulate the Portuguese silk industry, of which a major centre was the factory which stood near the square.  Visitors to this small garden can see 10 different tree species, including some fine specimens of mulberry, a splendid group of gingkos and a sycamore maple.

The garden is surrounded by a group of 18th century houses built as homes for the silk workers, by the Arpad Szénes-Vieira da Silva Museum (in the restored silk factory), dedicated to the work of the contemporary Portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and her Hungarian husband, the painter Arpad Szénes, a series of decorative panels on Rua das Amoreiras and the Nossa Senhora de Monserrate chapel under the arches of the aqueduct.

Here there is a children´s playground, a small pond and an esplanade and kiosk.