São Vicente, Lisbon

São Vicente
São Vicente
Civil parish
	Clockwise: View of São Vicente de Fora Monastery and the National Pantheon of Santa Engrácia in the Alfama neighborhood; Graça Convent; Military Museum of Lisbon; view of Alfama; Barbacena Palace.
	Coordinates: 38°43′08″N 9°07′34″W / 38.719°N 9.126°W
Country	Portugal
Region	Lisbon
Metropolitan area	Lisbon
District	Lisbon
Municipality	Lisbon
Area
• Total	1.99 km2 (0.77 sq mi)
Population (2021)
• Total	13,956
• Density	7,000/km2 (18,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC±00:00 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (WEST)

São Vicente (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w viˈsẽtɨ]) is a freguesia (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in the historic center of Lisbon, São Vicente is to the east of Santa Maria Maior, south of Arroios, and west of Penha de França. São Vicente is home to numerous historic neighborhoods, including Alfama. The population in 2021 was 13,956, for a population density of 7,013.1 inhabitants per km² on an area of 1.99 square kilometers^[1]^[2]

History

The parish of Graça was created in 1569, after the Santo Estêvao de Alfama de-annexation. The parish name was intended to honor the catholic martyr Santa Engracia of Zaragoza, later on the King Manuel I daughter, Infanta Maria built a church in the parish to receive a reliquary of the said martyr. After being almost destroyed by a severe storm, the church was rebuilt and eventually received the National Pantheon classification.^[3] This parish was formed after the Lisbon earthquake, with land from the extinct parishes of Santo André and Santa Marinha, acquiring its own identity in the 19th century.

Until the 18th century, it remained the easternmost parish outside the walls of Lisbon, spanning a vast area. This was largely due to the city's eastward expansion driven by population growth, leading to the establishment of numerous estates and manor palaces. Two of the most significant religious complexes, the Parish Church of Santa Engrácia (known as the Church of Our Lady of the Porciúncula) and the Convent of the Barbadinhos (later converted into residential areas), date back to the 1800s.

In the following century, an administrative reform reduced its territory, with the National Pantheon, which had been located within its boundaries, being transferred to the jurisdiction of the São Vicente de Fora parish.

The parish of São Vicente de Fora drew its name from the Church of São Vicente de Fora. In addition to this church, there is Santa Engrácia, which in 1910 was transformed into the National Pantheon.

From the early 20th century to the mid-20th century, Santa Engrácia was one of Lisbon's most densely populated areas, despite its territory shrinking to its current approximately 57 hectares, a result of successive administrative reorganizations. Many migrants settled here seeking better living conditions and employment opportunities, particularly in the riverside industries. The establishment of the Santa Apolónia port and railway terminal later attracted people from various regions of the country.

For reasons unrelated to its founding, namely the residence of Baron Monte Pedral, the parish's name was changed to Monte Pedral on May 1, 1913, only to revert to its original designation on March 24, 1952.^[4]

With the gradual closure of industrial enterprises and the consequent loss of jobs, the demographic landscape changed. Buildings deteriorated and remained unoccupied, with no new housing developments emerging. Rents and property prices became increasingly unaffordable for younger residents, a phenomenon not unique to Lisbon. Additionally, the lack of parking exacerbated the situation. Consequently, the remaining inhabitants are predominantly elderly, with non-vacant or dilapidated buildings repurposed as offices.

This new parish was created on November 8, 2012 in application of a resolution of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal (2012 Administrative Reform of Lisbon), merging the former parishes of São Vicente de Fora, Graça (English: Grace) and Santa Engrácia. The new administrative configuration was implemented after the local elections of 2013.^[5]^[6]

Demographics

Historical resident population (before the 2012 Administrative Reform)

The resident population recorded according to Censuses carried over the years is shown in the following tables for the three parishes that today constitute São Vicente. It is noteworthy that the ancient parish of Graça lost 9,335 people from 1960 to 2011 or 61.73% of its 1960 population, not having recorded a single population gain since 1960. Similarly, the ancient parish of Santa Engrácia lost 6,499 people or 55.32% of its 1960 population from 1960 to 2011, with major population losses recorded in the nineties (-23.2%). Still, it was the parish of São Vicente de Fora was the one that recorded the most significant demographic loss: the population of this former parish shrunk by 7,994 people or 69.31% of its 1960 population from 1960 to 2011.

If the three parishes that constitute today's São Vicente had a combined population of 38,403 in 1960, the number fell to 14,575 in 2011, having recorded a loss of 62.05%. Although in some cases the number of inhabitants had been decreasing well before the 1959 Portuguese administrative reform (e.g. Graça and São Vicente de Fora lost a total of 1,411 inhabitants from 1920 Census to 1950 Census) the decrease rate was minimal. The significant decrease recorded after 1960 was mostly due to emigration towards newly urbanized areas providing better services such as sanitation and access to healthcare, both within Lisbon municipality (Carnide, Benfica, Alvalade) and outside the city's boundaries (Loures, Amadora, Odivelas). In the 1980s and 1990s, due to good economic performance of the country, many inhabitants, mostly from lower social classes, enhanced their opportunities and thus moved out of the neighbourhood being the overwhelming majority of the houses old, humid and lacking modern facilities. The process meant that many buildings were abandoned and a drug market emerged, especially in neighbourhing Alfama, leading even more people to move out of the neighbourhood. Urban rehabilitation started from the late 1990s and mitigated demographic losses. Due to high building costs and the relative isolation of many streets, typically steep and narrow, few locals chose to relocate to the neighbourhood, that by the early 2000s was inhabited mostly by elders.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10] Starting from the early 2000s, another factor that has greatly contributed to the depopulation of the parish has been gentrification caused by mass tourism. In São Vicente around 1,750 apartments are listed as "Alojamento Local", meaning they have the license to be rent on platforms such as Booking.com or Airbnb. Moreover, many hotels and other activities catering to tourists have pushed many inhabitants towards other neighbourhoods.^[11] According to Ricardo Gonçalves Dias, that the neighborhood is "out of character, as it has lost part of its popular culture" and "The neighborhood and mutual help network that existed has also been lost a little".^[12]^[13] From 2001 to 2011 the population decreased by further 2,512 people, or by 14.7%.

São Vicente de Fora

Graça

Santa Engrácia

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1960	11,533	—
1970	9,253	−19.8%
1981	8,301	−10.3%
1991	5,453	−34.3%
2001	4,267	−21.7%
2011	3,539	−17.1%
Source: INE

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1960	15,122	—
1970	13,183	−12.8%
1981	11,442	−13.2%
1991	8,604	−24.8%
2001	6,960	−19.1%
2011	5,787	−16.9%
Source: INE

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1960	11,748	—
1970	10,245	−12.8%
1981	9,705	−5.3%
1991	7,626	−21.4%
2001	5,860	−23.2%
2011	5,249	−10.4%
Source: INE

Current resident population (after the 2012 Administrative Reform)

In the 2021 Portuguese Census was recorded an additional demographic loss for the new parish of São Vicente. In particular, from 2011 to 2021 the parish lost 1,383 people, recording a loss of -9.02%.

Former Parishes			Current Parish^[14]
Parish	Population (2011)^[15]	Area (km²)^[16]	Parish	Population in 2011 (adjusted)	Population in 2021	Area (km²)
São Vicente de Fora	3,239	0.32	São Vicente	15,339	13,956	1.99
Graça	5,787	0.35
Santa Engrácia	5,249	0.55