This is the masterpiece written by Raul Proença (1924), extraordinary librarian and author, just as it was published one century ago, a work conceived, undertaken, and brought to fruition in just a few months — months marked by obsession and crystal-clear lucidity — by this impetuous, ascetic, and combative man, thanks not only to his own talents for execution but also to his ability to assemble a veritable constellation of collaborators, art historians, and scientists.

It was the wish of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to present in this reissue the text of Raul Proença’s work in its original version (1924), considering that a work of such originality and value should be preserved in its purity. The reader should not, therefore, expect to find an updated travel guide. To achieve that, it would be necessary to subject the work to drastic and painful alterations that would obscure the Lisbon of one century ago. Brief footnotes have been added in a few cases deemed most significant.