Campo Pequeno Bullring
The Campo Pequeno bullring (Praça de Touros do Campo Pequeno) in the north of Lisbon, close to the Campo Pequeno metro station, is the city's historic bullring and the spiritual home of Portuguese bullfighting.
History
The original building dates from 1892 and was designed by Portuguese architect António José Dias da Silva. The style is "neo-Arabic" and the overall design was loosely based on a former bullring in Madrid, Spain - the Fuente del Berro, now no longer standing.
The circular structure was restored between 2000 and 2006 and now incorporates an underground shopping and restaurant mall as well as a cinema and large subterranean car park (Cinema City Campo Pequeno). The venue hosts music concerts, opera and other events including trade fairs and exhibitions as well as regular bull fights during the season.
The building, with a capacity for 8,000 spectators, is done in orange brick with four octagonal towers topped with cupolas. The grand entrance is flanked by a further pair of turrets also capped with domes.
Portuguese bullfighting differs from the event in Spain in that the bull is fought from horseback by riders (cavaleiros) in costume and is not killed in the ring as decreed by the 19th century monarch Miguel I (1802-1866). The riders are both male and female in Portuguese bullfighting and are the stars of the show along with their horses rather than the matadors as in Spain.
Wounded bulls are either put down after the corrida by a butcher and sold for meat or allowed to go out to stud. A group of forcadas working on foot also "catch" the bull in a show of strength.
A small museum, which includes a tour to see the interior of the bullring, introduces the history of bullfighting in Portugal with a short video. On display are costumes, the equipment of the horsemen and a variety of posters and photographs of past and present bullfighters including women and Spanish and South American matadors.
Access
Campo Pequeno Bullring (www.campopequeno.com)
Campo Pequeno
Lisbon 1000-082
Tel: 21 799 8450
Museum
Hours: Daily: April to October: 10 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 7 pm;
November to March: 10 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm
Admission: 5 Euros
The nearest Lisbon metro station is Campo Pequeno on the Linha Amarela with its interesting tile work and sculptures by the Portuguese artist Francisco Simões.
Alternatively take a Lisbon bus any of numbers: 727, 736, 738, 744, 746, 749, 756, 783 or AeroBus (*presently suspended) to Campo Pequeno.
Nearby is the superb Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima, Lisbon's first modernist church.
There are several hotels nearby including the VIP Grand Lisboa Hotel & Spa, the Jupiter Lisboa Hotel, and the VIP Inn Berna Hotel.
The bullfighting season begins in April and tickets can be bought online or at the venue itself.
Gallery
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