At the southern end of Largo do Toural begins the Alameda de São Dâmaso, which extends to Avenida da República do Brasil, known to locals as Campo da Feira.

At the beginning of this Alameda, on the left side, you can see a part of the wall, corresponding to the old Customs Tower, whose function was to reinforce the defence of the town of Guimarães.
The name comes from the fact that, in its vicinity, the Guimarães Customs building was built. Virtually forgotten until 1934, it was later restored, adding some rows of stones and battlements to form the battlements of the old Tower.
From the 1960s onwards, the Customs Tower acquired a particular symbolism, with the placement of the inscription “Aqui Nasceu Portugal”, on the outer face of the wall.
This inscription refers to the events that took place here, which contributed to the foundation of the Portuguese nationality, since the Battle of S. Mamede, on June 24, 1128, which culminated in the recognition of D. Afonso Henriques as the First King of Portugal.
The old tower is currently undergoing restoration work and will be open to the public to allow access to the top.

The Alameda de S. Dâmaso has a central garden with benches, ideal for taking a break in the shade of the leafy trees or simply staying there and contemplating the daily life of the city. It is a social space par excellence, which takes on a new setting every season of the year, with bare trees in winter, letting in sunlight, and full of cool shade in summer.

The garden has a beautiful bandstand, which is still used today, especially for musical performances, and two bronze figures: the “Faun” and the “Rapariguinha”, works by the notable sculptor António Ferreira de Azevedo.

In the last part of the garden, we see the monument in honour of Gil Vicente, born in Guimarães in the mid-15th century, considered the first great Portuguese playwright, as well as a renowned poet, known nationally as “the father of Portuguese theatre”. The monument, entitled “500 Years of Portuguese Theatre”, designed by the sculptor Irene Vilar, was inaugurated in 2003 and features seven masks evoking dramatic performances, displayed on two shelves.