Versão portuguesa aqui.
GPS 38.52858926301573, -8.890705820238026
The oldest formal green space in the municipality, whose origin dates back to the 16th century, when King Manuel I acquired the Herdade Barbuda, north of Postigo de Santa Catarina, at the confluence with the current Avenida 5 de Outubro. On this land he had a pleasant garden planted which, despite the works and expansions, still lasts.
Recreational architecture. Park with a modernist conception, evident not only in the design that favors the comfort of the user, giving the park a certain feeling of enclosure with the isolation of noise and pollution, today much attenuated by the fact that the shrub layer has practically been eradicated, as in the concerns revealed on an environmental level, well evident in the descriptive memory where the designer states "The new Bonfim park was idealized, whenever possible respecting the laws of nature, consisting of a grove of more or less dense vegetation surrounding an open central area.
Description
Park with an approximately pentagonal plan, fenced, with eight entrances, two facing N., two facing E., one facing SE. and three facing S., the vast majority located at the end of main paths. The main entrance faces S. and is framed between two secondary entrances. The park consists of a large lawn, massive trees and in some areas, especially to the west and north, rows of trees that delimit the park, species such as the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), the white poplar (Populus alba) , the Black Poplar (Populus nigra), among others, working as curtains for the outside, with a smaller number of specimens that appear isolated.
The area of flowerbeds, in relation to the total area of the park, is extremely small. There is a large ellipsoid-shaped lake with two gutters inside from which several jets of water are projected simultaneously. This lake is located in the centre, across the width of the park but further to the S. towards its length. Juxtaposed to the lake is the back facade of a BUILDING with a quadrangular plan, with a terrace, which is accessed from the side by stairs. Connected to this construction by a path, there is an island paved with limestone slabs over the lake, just like the path itself and the lake shore. To the east of this lake, in the continuation of the paved area, there is a CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND with equipment in a central position. To the E. and N. of the latter are TWO rectangular constructions, in masonry, intended for children's activities and to support the playground itself.
This built nucleus and the lake itself are connected to the outside of the park by paths. There is a small CIRCULAR TANK protected by a thicket of bamboo (Arundinaria falconeri), in an angle of the park, next to its NE end., which feeds a SMALL CHANNEL of water, about 1 m long. wide and 0.15m deep, which winds down, accompanied by a secondary path, to the lake. In addition to this path, there are two main long, longitudinal, asphalted paths that follow the park's limits to the east (the latter crossing the waterline) and to the west. There is yet another main, curvy path that crosses the park from NW. the SE., making the connection between these two main paths, which crosses the large lawn. There are several secondary paths, paved with Portuguese pavement or irregular limestone slabs, which connect the primary paths to each other or to the aforementioned built elements. There is a single exception in which a secondary path to the N., originating from the path that accompanies the small channel, communicates with an "Island of greenery" paved with irregular limestone slabs, located in the center of the large shaded lawn N. by some trees from an alignment of eleven notable specimens of plane trees (Platanus orientalis). About half of them shade the aforementioned "Island", where there are also three double benches made of painted slats. About a quarter of the park, situated between the lake and the E. and S. limits of the park, is made up of a dense wooded massif, where plane trees (Platanus orientalis) predominate.
In this area, between the lake and the central S. entrance to the park, there is a bronze bust, on a stone plinth, of the poet António Maria Eusébio, known for the "Calafate", by the sculptor Castro Lobo. At the source of this sculptural element, in the middle of a cluster of plane trees, there is another one, alluding to the "Centenary of the Scout Movement" where five necks and horse heads are represented, stylized, in cement, united by a metal bow. Along the shore of the lake there are also two abstract sculptural elements. Scattered throughout the park, we find a varied list of trees with species such as: Buçaco cedar (Cupressus lusitanica), catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides), araucaria (Araucaria bidwilli), Canary palm (Phoenix canariensis), black poplar (Populus nigra), ginko (Ginko biloba), magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), linden (Tilia cordata) and cypress (Cupressus sempervirens).
Chronology
century 16 - King D. Manuel I acquired the Herdade Barbuda, north of the Santa Catarina gate, at the confluence with the current Avenida 5 de Outubro. In it he had a garden planted, in the place where Parque do Bonfim is today; 1950 - a document refers to the park's poor state of conservation and calls for a rigorous location of existing tree species; 1954-1966- Landscape architecture project for the garden which, at the time of construction, was not fenced, being isolated from the surroundings through a dense tree curtain. Pavement in discontinuous irregular limestone slabs. Stone bench supported by stone arches. Large lake with naturalized borders in most of its extension; 1996-1998 - Modernization of some aspects of the garden, namely installation of automatic irrigation, new urban furniture, improvement of the drainage system, recovery of lighting and pavements and recovery of lawns; 2005- The park was fenced, with the shrub layer almost non-existent for safety reasons. Along the waterline, a pavement in Portuguese stone pavement was installed on the path. The lake was completely surrounded by regular continuous slabs.