Rebuilding destroyed cities: the decisive choices in the Lisbon's reconstruction plan after the earthquake of 1755

Abstract

The reconstruction plan of Lisbon, instigated by the earthquake of 1755, is often considered the first great urban plan of the modern era, clearly founded on an Enlightenment urbanistic conception. This article, privileging a historicist approach based on archival research and literature review, aims to systematize and analyze the major urban planning options that guided this process of urban reconstruction, which is still today an unavoidable reference in the history of urban planning. The analysis of collected sources suggests four main vectors that distinguish this urban renovation and its successful achievements: i) the institutional and technical coordination that defined the strategy of action and ensured its implementation; ii) the new solutions of urban morphology implemented in the city reconstruction; iii) the innovation associated with new construction techniques and building systems; iv) the legislative progress that enabled the realization of the plan and that ensured the needed funds for such a large and ambition enterprise.