D. Dinis Wall

Set underneath the Church of S. Julião in Lisbon's Baixa (downtown) district is the D. Dinis Wall, a section of medieval wall unearthed during the rehabilitation of the neighborhood in 2012. Constructed near the river on the orders of King Dinis in the late 13th as a defensive structure, the wall was in use for nearly 75 years. Its upper levels were later absorbed as the foundations of the Ribeira Royal Palace, built in the 16th century and destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. Buried for centuries, the excavated section now forms the centerpiece of a fascinating Interpretation Centre. Along with the wall, the exhibition also features a wealth of fascinating historical artifacts discovered during the restoration project, items such as fragments of mortar from the 2nd century AD, a 13th-century chess piece and a collection of medieval coins. The deconsecrated church forms part of the headquarters of the Bank of Portugal and future development includes the establishment of a money museum.