The Palacio da Bolsa was commissioned by Porto's Commercial Association in the nineteenth century, on ground beside the church of Sao Francisco, as the seat and showcase of a merchant city grown wealthy on wine, textiles and Atlantic trade. Its exterior is soberly neoclassical, but the interior sequence is theatrical: the Hall of Nations, a vast courtyard covered by an iron and glass dome bearing the coats of arms of Porto's trading partners; a monumental granite staircase; assembly rooms panelled in exotic woods. The climax is the Salao Arabe, a Moorish revival hall decorated over many years with stucco arabesques, coloured glass and gilding inspired by the Alhambra of Granada, used for official receptions to this day. Located within the historic centre of Porto inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the building offers exceptional filming material: a nineteenth-century bourgeoisie staging its own ambition through architecture, and a demonstration of decorative craftsmanship rarely equalled in Portugal.
