Via Latina

The long balcony on the façade of the former Royal Palace that extends in its front is known as the Via Latina. The name by which it is known refers to the official language prior to the Pombaline Reform. As one of the most striking images of the entire centre of the University, from there you can access the main rooms such as the Sala dos Capelos where the most important academic ceremonies took place, and the Private Examination Hall, where the main examinations took place.

Until today, the Via Latina has undergone successive interventions. From the Manueline period, vestiges of the building remain, such as the panelled windows. In the 18th century, we can see the sumptuous central portico by French sculptor Claude Laprade, crowned by the figure of Wisdom, the symbol of the university, which can also be found on the Porta Férrea and the Stairs of Minerva. During the reign of King Joseph I, the bust of the King was added to the portico, making it a monument of exaltation to the reforming monarch and recalling the influence of the royal power on the University. The new balcony, completed in the course of time, is set off by a sequence of columns, and has three access staircases, two lateral ones and a central one, of great monumentality. The Via Latina remains an emblematic place of the University. Even today, it is still the access to the rectory and a central place of academic life, chosen by students in the most important moments of their journey.