CHAPTER II
IN spite of nature's rough treatment, in spite of the spirit of progress, which, in giving Lisbon its air of modern prosperity and activity, draws obliterating fingers over the past, important relics still remain to evoke ancient memories, certain bits of the old city are still left almost intact.
The Lisboa Antiga, closely connected with sharply contrasting epochs of Portuguese history, is to be found on the steep slopes of the chief hill of the city, the hill of the Castello de S. Jorge—the Castle of St George. Here in bold outlook upon the friendly bay clustered the beginnings of primitive Lisbon. Here settled the Moorish conquerors of long ago, here grew and spread the Lisbon of D. Fernando the Handsome, of D. Manuel the Fortunate. Here was that labyrinth of mysterious streets and narrow alleys that have been sung in verse, and formed the scenic background of many a romantic episode of the days of João V and of tales of the type of a Harrison Ainsworth or Eugene Sue.
Here on a lower slope of the same hill were laid the foundations of the oldest church in Lisbon, the Sé or Cathedral of Santa Maria, so long ago that the true date cannot be fixed. One authority places it in the year 306, others predate the building to the second century when Christianity was spreading through the Peninusula in spite of its suppression by the Romans. According to the legend, S. Vicente, who became the patron saint of Lisbon, was put to death by orders received from Diocletion, and his body, attached to a millstone, flung into the sea. When the boatmen returned to shore, the Saint's body was discovered miraculously on the sands and buried secretly by the Christians. This martyrdom occurred in
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