The Rua de D. João I, formerly known as Rua de Gatos, was located outside the walls that protected the town and was already inhabited at the end of the 12th century. Due to its proximity to one of the most important gates of the Vila de Guimarães, the Porta de São Domingos, it became the connecting route between the centre of Guimarães and the road to Porto.
In the first half of the 16th century, a Hospital and a Gafaria dos Lázaros (a place for lepers) were built at the end of the street. In this gafaria, the Chapel of São Lázaro was built in 1600.
Next to the Chapel is the Patron of D. João I (or of S. Lázaro), a work from the 16th century, whose magnificent cross is covered by a kind of Renaissance canopy. The monument was erected in commemoration of Portugal’s victory over Spain at the Battle of Aljubarrota, which took place on 14 August 1385.
After the Battle of Aljubarrota, King João I arrived in Guimarães and, at the place where the Padrão is built, he began the pilgrimage barefoot and surrounded by a retinue, to fulfil the vow made to Santa Maria de Guimarães of victory in the battle, offering Senhora da Oliveira part of his combat armour and some valuable spoils taken from the enemy, including a gold cord equal in length to the distance between this Padrão and the Igreja da Oliveira. The doublet used in battle by King D. João I is part of the current collection of the Alberto Sampaio Museum.
At the top of the street is the Church of Santo Domingo, a Gothic example, listed as a Public Interest Asset, next to it, the cloister of the old convent – National Monument, and the building of the Venerable Third Order of Santo Domingo.
The origins of the Church of Santo Domingo date back to the construction of the first Dominican monastery in Guimarães, built between 1271 and 1278.
During the 18th and 19th centuries the original design of the building was deeply modified, combining Gothic elements with Baroque and Romanesque reminiscences and the Holy Sacrament of the Church of S. Paio was moved there.
The Convent of S. Domingos, an old medieval construction, was destroyed at the end of the 19th century, leaving only the beautiful 14th century cloister, a national monument since 1910, today integrated into the Archaeological Museum of the Martins Sarmento Society.
The urban evolution of this street was felt through the construction of some baroque buildings, such as the Casa Peixoto Guimarães, opposite the church of São Domingos and buildings built in the second half of the 19th century.
The structure of Rua de D. João I still maintains the characteristics of a medieval street. Most of the houses on this street follow the standard model of Guimarães houses built in the 16th and 17th centuries, where the two-storey houses stand out, with granite shutters and wooden balconies on the first floor.
On this street we can find an “island” type neighbourhood, which is accessed through a walkway, built behind the entrance of one of the main buildings, which flows into a narrow alley where houses and farms are grouped together.