Penha de França (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpɐɲɐ ðɨ ˈfɾɐ̃sɐ]) is a freguesia (civil parish) and typical quarter of Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal.

Located in the historic center of Lisbon, Penha de França is north of São Vicente, east of Arroios, south of Areeiro, and west of Beato.

Its territory originated from medieval parishes: Santo Estêvão de Alfama, Santa Justa, and Olivais, within Lisbon's jurisdiction.

The 1755 earthquake led to the abandonment of many estates (Pina, Coxo, and Bacalhau, among others) and manors (Gadanho, Peixinhos, Alto da Eira, Santo António, and Machada) who were built in the area by Portuguese nobility.

In fact, it remained a favored area for Lisbon residents to stroll, as described by Almeida Garrett in his 1846 work "Viagens na Minha Terra [pt]" (lit.

Despite these settlements, until the late 19th to early 20th centuries, the area remained predominantly rural, situated on the outskirts of Lisbon, characterized by open fields, vegetable gardens, estates, summer residences, and monasteries.

The painting depicts a rural view of mid-19th-century Lisbon, highlighting the old convent on the hill of Penha de França, framed by trees, oxen, and a peasant woman.

[14] Many people have been cremated here in the years since, including Nobel Literature laureate José Saramago, Álvaro Cunhal and Sónia Neves [pt].

It is one of the main avenues of the parish and on its side is located one of the largest workers' villages in Lisbon: Vila Cândida, dating from the late 19th century.

[22][23] In 1935 the Quartel da Penha de França was the site of an attempted revolt against Salazar's regime by the Movimento Nacional-Sindicalista, a fascist (as defined by Stanley G. Payne) movement.

In 1960, João Lopes Holtreman [pt] established his first business in the parish of Penha de França, opening the "Dois Mundos" bookshop.

[29] One of the last marriages celebrated in the church prior to its transformation into a museum was the one between businessman and billionaire Alexandre Soares dos Santos and Maria Teresa Canas Mendes da Silveira e Castro, in 1957.

To answer to the call for more government-fund houses after a surge in shanty towns, two residential towers, known as Torres do Alto da Eira, were built in 1973.

[31][32][33] Due to very poor maintenance, the two towers faced the risk of being demolished in 2008 but were later deemed to be recoverable: in 2012 the city council of Lisbon invested €4.5 million for the total rehabilitation of the dwellings and of the surrounding areas.

Hosting a large Romani community and located on the eastern border of the parish (in the portion formerly part of São João), 69 shacks were also destroyed.

[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] Tinturaria Portugália was the first of many industries to go bankrupt; it failed in 1976, following a period of political instability and the independence of the last Portuguese colonies (namely Angola and Mozambique).

[46] To eradicate shacks and provide everyone with access to tap water, electricity and sanitation, from 1993 the PER (Programa Especial de Realojamento) was implemented.

It was a shanty town hosting around 560 families until the late 1990s whose first inhabitants arrived in the 1930s but which experienced significant growth only after 1960, when a source of drinking water was installed in the neighbourhood.

[69] Most families were relocated to public housing projects nearby, notably the neighbourhood of Quinta do Lavrado composed of 263 apartments over 10 buildings, completed in 2001.

[81] The dovecotes of the ancient Curraleira neighbourhood, which had been used to train carrier pigeons, were demolished in 2014 to build an electricity substation in Alto de São João.

[96] The "biggest street art work" in Portugal was created in July 2022, decorating 3.8 km of the wall separating the bike lane in Avenida Infante D.Henrique from the port of Lisbon.

[97] The parish hosted the Regador Festival in 2023, aimed at increasing green spaces in the area;[98] the new garden of Caracol da Penha opened in the same year.

[101] The resident population recorded according to censuses carried over the years is shown in the following tables for both parishes that today constitute Penha de França.

Religion in Penha de França (Census 2021)[105] The parish is predominantly catholic and 64.71% of the population aged 15 or above are followers of a Christian or Jeovah's Witness denomination as of 2021.

[106] The presence of minor religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism (5.55% of the population amongst the three) is probably[citation needed] due to an increasing community of people coming from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Nepal.

[112] In 2023 the parish started a new service consisting in phone assistance to migrants who do not yet speak Portuguese, offering them the possibility to ask for information in their own languages.

[119] Regardless of age, the proportion of those having completed education at least up to 14 years old stood at 73.93% for Penha de França parish, lower than the value recorded for Lisbon (77.21%).

[158][159] Other entities offering support to the population include the Associação para a Saúde e Desenvolvimento Solidário [pt] and the Mercearia Social da Penha de França, established in 2017.

They march and dance in an open avenue or closed arena to the sound of popular music, mixing motifs of Portuguese summer culture, like "manjerico" and the sea.

[215] A noteworthy social activity annually held by the parish is the gastromomic competition "Penha à mesa", lasting around 10 days in July.