at a glance

there are sites to appreciate in this mixed working and middleclass neighborhood, such as the fonte da medusa (fountain of medusa) in the largo do pedregulho. the cast iron sculpture was created by the french artist henri frédéric. the fountain was once used by travelers on the royal road to the estrada real de santa cruz to water their horses.

the area where benfica is situated was originally populated during colonial period of the sixteenth century. jesuit missionaries operated a very large sugarcane plantation on their land up until the time they were expelled by the portuguese empire in 1759.

today, the hospital central do exército (central army hospital), the mercado cadeg, a market with hundreds of shops selling agricultural products and, the conjunto residencial prefeito mendes de moraes (mayor mendes de moraes condominium), which was designed in 1947 by the architect alfonso eduardo reidy are some of the bairro's points of interest.