page_title: São Bento Railway Station
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: São Bento Railway Station / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Panel of glazed tiles by Jorge Colaço, representing Prince Henry the navigator, in the conquest of Septa.
context_page_description: São Bento Railway Station is a 20th-century railway terminal in the civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, in the municipality of Porto, district of Porto. The English translation of São Bento is Saint Benedict. The station is located in the Historic Centre of Porto, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and as a National Monument of Portugal.
  This building was constructed over a number of years, starting in 1904, based on plans by architect José Marques da Silva. The large panels of azulejo tile were designed and painted by Jorge Colaço; they were completed in 1916 and the station was then inaugurated. The murals represent moments in the country's history and the multicoloured panels depict rural scenes showing the people of various regions.
context_section_description: 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.
  The symmetrical, three-story, granite building has a U-shaped plan, with its principal facade oriented to the southwest. A building of geometric rigor, in the Beaux-Arts style that was particularly popular in France, 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 stylised 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.
caption: Depiction of Prince Henry the Navigator in the conquest of Septa, by Jorge Colaço
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