The Largo de Donães, one of the most recent renovations in the Historic Centre of Guimarães.

With the demolition of a recent building there, which was out of tune with the rest of the houses and surroundings because it was relatively recent, the Historic Centre saw the birth of a new leisure space, returning to this square the centrality it had in the 14th century, at the time a meeting point for ecclesiastical figures and other prestigious classes of the town.

The renovated Largo de Donães is an open and welcoming space, with places to rest, cafés, restaurants and terraces and with an iron sculpture in the central area, which pays tribute to the work of the arts and crafts of Guimarães.

The square is one of the open-air stages of various cultural activities and a pleasant leisure place for residents and visitors.

From this Largo we find the Rua Egas Moniz. It used to be called Rua Nova do Muro or simply Rua Nova, and that is how the locals know it.

It is one of the streets in the Historic Centre that best preserves its authenticity. On one side, the houses follow the back of the old wall, some of them of medieval design.

Right on the street we find a symbol of popular religiosity. It is the Oratório do Senhor dos Desamparados, dedicated to Christ Crucified, built by the locals in 1712, and which they still preserve with great pride today.

Further on, on the left we find the Casa da Rua Nova. It is a three-storey house from the 17th/18th century, renovated with a project designed by the architect Fernando Távora in the 1980s, and which fully respects the traditional construction techniques of the Historic Centre of Guimarães. It was awarded the “Europa Nostra” Prize in 1985, as evidenced by the plaque placed next to the entrance door, becoming a model and symbolic milestone of the entire policy of intervention in the historic centre that was followed for more than a decade.

Since then it has housed the Local Technical Office, technically responsible for the rehabilitation of the Historic Centre, culminating in the candidacy for UNESCO World Heritage status, an award achieved in December 2001.