panel in the São Bento Railway Station in the
conquest of Septa, by
Jorge Colaço The station is located in the historic centre, occupying a large space delimited by the
Praça Almeida Garrett,
Rua da Madeira and
Rua do Loureiro, as well as the escarpment of Batalha, where a tunnel has been carved into the hill. it has a central body corresponding to the principal atrium and on either extreme two volumes. The central body has strong architrave cornice over corbels, with dense repetitive rhythm that covers the whole building. Rounding the facade is a robust frame with similar fenestrations, while the lateral facades maintain a relation between span symmetry, content and decoration. The vestibule is covered in azulejo tile, framed by pilasters. Near the ceiling is a blue and gold frieze decorated with stylized flowers, while below them is another polychromatic frieze depicting the history of transportation in Portugal. Below the friezes are large azulejo "paintings" representing historical events in Portuguese history. The tin-glazed azulejo tiles are integrated into the architecture by frames in granite which decorate the lines of the atrium.
Vestibule and historic tile images There are approximately 20,000 azulejo tiles, dating from 1905–1916, that were composed by Jorge Colaço, an important painter of azulejo. The actual tiles were made in the Sacavém factory. Colaço placed the first tiles on 13 August 1905. To the left of the entrance is a scene depicting the
Battle of Arcos de Valdevez and
Egas Moniz before Alfonso VII of Castile, while to the right, is
D. João I in Oporto, with his fiancée (with an unfortunate mechanical crossing through the middle of the picture), and the
Conquest of Ceuta. On the border wall at the entrance are small panels depicting countryside scenes. The tile project required 11 years to complete. The upper parts of the frieze are lined with polychromatic (multicolored) azulejos depicting a
chronology of some forms of transport used by people in various areas of Portugal. The lower and upper frame of the frieze consists of a line of tile in blue, browns and yellow in a stylized geometric pattern. Under this, on the top of the north wall, is a large composition that covers the entire wall, depicting the
Battle of Valdevez (1140), with two groups of antagonists and other knights in the background. This monochromatic composition, like the other main azulejo scenes, is executed in blue on white tile. Below it is another composition that represents meeting between the knight
Egas Moniz and
Alfonso VII of León in Toledo (12th century), offering his life, his wife and his sons following the siege of
Guimarães. In the south, is a painting of the entrance to Porto of
King John I and
Philippa of Lancaster, on horseback, to celebrate their wedding (1387). Below that is the
conquest of Ceuta (1415), with the principal figure of
Infante D. Henrique, who subjugated the Moors. The wall into the station is divided into multiple compositions. To the left, a vision of the procession of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios in Lamego, an exhaustive description and detail showing the multitudes within an urban setting. Under this composition are two panels that represent her "promise" on her knees and, the other, her actions at the "miraculous" fountain. In the same detail is the
pilgrimage of São Trocato to Guimarães. One of the lower panels show a picture of a cattle fair and pilgrim camp. The central panels of the wall represent four work scenes: the vineyards, the harvest, the wine shipment down the
Douro and work in the watermill. On the pilasters separating the doors with access to the street, below the polychromatic frieze, is a series of smaller compositions. Above these are medallions depicting romantic scenes and, below, allegories associated with the railway referencing time and signalling, in an
Art Deco style. ==Services==