Museu da Agua, Lisbon

When I read in my guidebook that an eerie nineteenth century reservoir lay hidden beneath on of Lisbon's main squares, I was immediately intrigued and determined to visit. I love the idea of hidden and atmospheric places and this one sounded as if it was off the usual sightseeing itinerary.

Finding the Museum
My guidebook told me that the Museu da Agua Principe Real was accessed down stairs in the middle of the square of the same name. Finding the square was easy; it is located in the middle of the Bairro Alto region of the old city of Lisbon. When we arrived I was initially confused. The square was a very pleasant central city square, laid out with trees, grass and pathways. In the middle was an ornamental fountain with rather green and stagnant water, but I could see no obvious signs of a museum.

We wandered around the square for some time, looking for a notice - and eventually spotted some very functional looking black railings just by the fountain. Walking down these inconspicuous steps, we found ourselves in the tiny museum reception area, where a friendly curator sold us our tickets.

History
The "Patriarcal Reservoir" was designed in 1856 by a French engineer and was once the most important supplier of water for central Lisbon. Originally it was supplied with water from the ancient Aqueduct da Aguas Livres, parts of which can still be walked along today. This huge aqueduct brought water from the Arco reservoir and built in 1748, it brought fresh drinking water to the city for the first time. The octagonal reservoir in the Bairro Alto could store 880 cubic metres of this water for the inhabitants.

The Museum
Buying our tickets from the tiny kiosk, we walked down the steps into the echoing reservoir, and found that we were the only visitors. Initially I was thrilled by the enormous stone columns, the mysterious tunnels and the sound of dripping water.

The vaulted brick arches soared above the galleries and subtle lighting gave the whole area a mysterious feel.

The size of the reservoir takes your breath away; the stone arches that support the roof of the reservoir rest on thirty one imposing grey columns, each 9.25 metres high.

The reservoir consists of three galleries, the first is three meters deep, the second is below that and the third is very far down and cannot be accessed. The bottom gallery is illuminated by floor lights so that you can see the thin sheen of water that covers the ancient stone. The two top galleries are accessed by a series of iron stairs and walkways. As we walked around the galleries we could see the occasional small tunnel stretching back into the darkness, some of these were filled with water and some of them were dry. Ambient music playing in the background added to the sense of mystery.

In the middle some remnants of Victorian engineering remained, in particular a large and well preserved steam engine that was used to provide electricity.

The walkways are often used to house cultural and artistic exhibitions, and when we visited we were able to view a photographic exhibition on Lisbon life as we walked around.

Opinion
Although I was pleased to have seen this rather mysterious and hidden museum, I did feel ultimately a bit disappointed by my visit. This could have been due to the complete lack of information about the place; I was not clear what the galleries used to do and where the tunnels led. We were not offered information in any language when we arrived and there were no information signs around the museum.

I felt that it would have been better to replace the art exhibition with some visual history of the water transport system - either maps or old photos. This would have given me more of an idea of how the reservoir used to operate. The whole method of transporting water from the hills is fascinating, and details such as the distance the water travelled, together with the way that the aqueduct withstood the 1755 earthquake, would have been really interesting reading.I later found out that the fountain in the park was part of the reservoir, acting as some kind of drainage system, but this was not clear at the time.

This was however only one part of the entire Water Museum - a fact that I did not realise at the time. The Water Museum consists of four different sites that formed the core of the Lisbon water supply network, itself some 60 km long. The sites are: the Barbadinhos Steam Pump Station; two storage reservoirs (one of which is this reservoir); and the Águas Livres Aqueduct. Perhaps if I had realised this, or had the time to visit all the parts of the site, I would have got a little more out of the experience.

Prices and Opening Hours
Entry: Adults 2.50E, Children under 12 - free of charge, Students 1.50E
Opening hours: Monday - Saturday, 10am-6pm