Anniversary: The 1531 Lisbon Earthquake — January 26, 1531

On 26 January 1531 a strong earthquake struck Lisbon, heavily damaging the lower town along the Tagus — the city’s worst recorded disaster before the great earthquake of 1755. Chronicles and modern seismology agree on the date, if not on every number. The cathedral, fortress-like on its hill since 1147, is the building through which Lisbon counts its catastrophes: damaged, repaired and still standing after each one.