Terreiro da Sé is a paradox. Although Terreiro, the square of the Porto Cathedral, is surrounded by old buildings and seems to have existed forever – or at least since medieval times – it is actually a modern creation, dating from 1940, designed to showcase the Cathedral. In order to construct this square, a relatively large number of buildings had to be demolished– among them the Chapel of Tailors – and rebuilt in other areas of the city. The column at the centre of the square is also new, dating from 1945, when the municipality finished working on Terreiro da Sé.
