Santa Clara (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈsɐ̃tɐ ˈklaɾɐ]) is a freguesia (civil parish) and typical quarter of Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal.

[1][2] Since prehistoric times, the territory now known as Santa Clara parish has been inhabited by humans, leaving behind a trail of archaeological evidence dating from the Paleolithic to the Chalcolithic era.

[3][4] Furthermore, Roman influence is substantiated by the discovery of an altar or stele, with a likely 3rd-century inscription, unearthed in 1720 in the Várzea de Santa Suzana.

[5][6] During the Muslim rule of the Iberian Peninsula between the 8th and 12th centuries, the occupation intensified with the consolidation of small homesteads and the development of orchards and gardens.

These include the tale of the Moorish figure Mixo or Amixo founding the settlement, and the account of the battle fought between Moors and Christians.

[7][8][9][10] At the time of the conquest of Lisbon, the number of local residents was already significant, and they were joined by many Moors who were either expelled from the city or left voluntarily.

[11][12] On July 24, 1385, D. João I granted perpetual rights and inheritance of vineyards and their accompanying lands, located beyond the boundaries of Lisbon, to "Afom priz da charneca caualeiro nosso uasallo."

From 1664 to 1681, significant renovations were undertaken in the church, including the addition of the chancel, and the ceiling panels were adorned with paintings by Bento Coelho da Silveira.

In 1688, while serving as the judge of the Confraternity of Our Lady of the Incarnation of Ameixoeira, the magistrate Gonçalo Mendes de Brito financed the installation of tiles in the nave, and he personally funded the construction of the main altarpiece.

[20] The devastating earthquake of 1755 wrought substantial destruction, affecting both the church and the residential and agricultural properties in the parish.

New developments like Alta de Lisboa transformed the traditionally rural and peaceful character of the parish, leading to it being considered a problematic area.

On the other hand, before the 1959 administrative reform of Lisbon, the Charneca parish covered a larger area, extending south and east.

In 1993 a major program for the eradication of shantytowns - who had remarkably grown following the influx of refugees from African colonies in the late 1970s and early 1980s, began.

The relocation program was highly beneficial for Lisbon: in 1993 there were still 37,300 people living in shantytowns in the capital city alone and around 130,000 the whole country (1.3% of the population).

[35][36][37][38][39][40] Santa Clara was amongst the freguesias more affected by the PER program and, by 2007, thousands of people who previously lived in precarious dwellings had been relocated to more suitable ones.

[43] In 2003 the neighbourhoods of "Alto do Chapeleiro", "Quinta das lavandeiras" and "Bairro da Ameixoeira" were completed: they currently house more than 3,100 people in 110 buildings and more than 1,000 apartments.

They were built were once stood the slums of Galinheiras, Quinta do Louro, Pailepa, Vale do Forno, Calvanas, Alto dos Moinhos.

Works have started and are planned to deliver 120,000 square meters divided between more than 500 luxury residential units, commercial areas and offices.

In January 2023 Lisbon mayor Carlos Moedas announced also the construction of over 2,000 homes for affordable housing in the upcoming years.

[56][57]Santa Clara, once a neglected parish, is now being revitalised also thanks to the contribution of numerous cultural associations located there including Ameixoeira Community Development Center (Centro de Desenvolvimento Comunitário Ameixoeira), Pedro Arrupe Centre, Sindicato Nacional da Polícia (SINAPOL), Associação Lusofonia Cultura e Cidadania, CulturFACE - Cultural Association for Development and Centro de Desenvolvimento Comunitário da Charneca (CDC Charneca) amongst others.

The two former parishes experienced continued growth in 1980 Census (when many people coming from the former Portuguese colonies in Africa - the so called retornados - moved to Portugal) up to 2011.

In the 1980s and 1990s the population of the parish recorded a minor loss; this is probably due to plummeting fertility rates as well as the demolition of shanty towns such as Musgueira.

[64][65] The 2012 Portuguese administrative reform meant that the population rose further to 22,480 since minor portions of Olivais and Lumiar were incorporated into the newly formed parish.

Religion in Santa Clara (Census 2021)[70] The parish is predominantly catholic and 78.13% of the population aged 15 or above are followers of a Christian or Jeovah's Witness denomination as of 2021.

[71] The presence of minor religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism (2.24% of the population amongst the three) is probably due to an increasing community of people coming from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Nepal.

[91] It is nonetheless important to notice that the value of the rents is quite low because of many contracts stipulated decades ago, with 48.93% (25.34% in Lisbon) of the dwellers paying less than €150/month[92] because of the rent-freezing system that was adopted in Portugal in the late XX century, allowing that many people, now mostly elders, don't have to pay high rents.

[116] The parish is nonetheless actively promoting initiatives aiming at helping people in situation of permanent of temporal homelessness.

[131] In recent years there has been a constant investment towards public facilities such as children playgrounds, with many created alongside the development of the parish.