The Great Hall of Acts

This space, as we see it today, dates back to the 1650s, when Rector D. Manuel Saldanha ordered the remodelling of the University Hall. The Rector's chair remains in place of the King's throne. It has open tribunes in the upper part and an armchair along the walls, to seat the school community, following a model seen in other Universities. Two elements are worthy of note: the portraits of the kings of Portugal, from Afonso Henriques to John IV, by Carlos Falch. It is worth mentioning that the Spanish monarchs who ruled Portugal between 1580 and 1640 are not portrayed. Among the kings represented, we highlight Denis of Portugal as he was the founder of the Portuguese University. In the following centuries, this gallery was completed until King Manuel II, with whom the monarchy came to an end in 1910.

The ceiling is decorated with grotesque motifs, a fanciful ornament very much in vogue at the time. Arranged symmetrically are owls and mermaids with serpent tails holding mirrors, symbolising wisdom and peace, and exotic elements from the New World such as Indians, turkeys and parrots.