Archway to Praça do Comércio

This archway opens the Pombaline Downtown and Augusta Street in Lisbon. I took this shot from the Praça do Comércio which looks out on the Tagus River.
When the Great Earthquake of 1755 hit Lisbon on November 1, it destroyed large portions of the city either directly from the earthquake or the fires and tsunamis afterward. The Tagus River actually totally receded and the Lisboetas were able to see the river bed, ships that had sunk, treasures and goods lost and whatever else the bottom of a river bed has. Then the waves came crashing in causing more destruction. Here's a satellite shot, the Praça do Comércio is at the point of the land mass on the left. If you look at this map, it's sort of shocking that the water receded because of how far inland the city is.

The archway was built as the Marquês de Pombal took over the city practically as a dictator in an effort to reign in on the post-earthquake problems.