Between 1521 and 1525 took place the works for the opening of the street Santa Catarina das Flores, today known only as Rua das Flores.
Starting at Largo de São Domingos and ending in front of the current São Bento Station, this new artery served as a connection between Cais da Ribeira and Porta de Carros, which gave access to the suburbs beyond.
A pioneer in the urban history of the city, the street of Santa Catarina das Flores was the first in Porto to be subject to specific rules for the construction of housing structures, but not only, regulating a kind of panoramic pre-project of the facades implanted on both sides of the street.
The wide, rectilinear design allowed for the construction of taller, modern and luxurious palatial houses, which, once occupied by the city’s elite, created along this artery a new area of power and social status that rivalled the traditional power of the Sé.
Built soon after the end of the old prerogative that prevented noblemen from staying inside the city, this street naturally served as a new home for families of the newly arrived nobility, but also families of the Porto bourgeoisie, some newly settled, others transferred from the New Street, and also families linked to the urban aristocracy, citizens engaged in positions the administration of the city as well as royal officials.
Part of the area given over to the new street was occupied by vegetable gardens belonging to the cathedral and the bishop, and it is likely that this is the origin of the toponym “das flores”, which is still used today to designate a street that is both unique and characteristic of the city.
