There, where “saudade” (longing) is acclaimed as the soul of a people, a people filled with a spirit that is genuinely Portuguese, lies one of the oldest and most authentic secrets in the history of Lisbon: the Mystery of Fado… 

 

At the entrance to Capelão Street, a sculpture of a Portuguese guitar announces Mouraria, the Cradle of Fado. This is a short, narrow street where time stands still, leaving us to wander its curious lanes and alleyways, the windows of the houses seemingly eager to share their stories.

It is here where Severa’s House would have once stood. Severa, a woman who played the guitar and whose singing evoked pain and melancholy, as if she were singing of fate, longing and disgrace, of loves and loves lost. It was why people would say that Maria Severa “used to sing fado”.

 

Rebuilt and adapted by the architect José Adrião, this house is under the management of Museu do Fado. Currently, it contains a restaurant and is the only Fado House in the neighbourhood of Mouraria.

 

Fado singer Helder Moutinho and Bela welcome visitors to the restaurant, where the sound of the Portuguese guitar, fado guitar and  voices can be heard every night from wednesdays to Sundays. The restaurant also hosts family parties, film screenings and fado gatherings. 

 

There  is an old saying among Fadistas, whether they be singers, musicians, poets or listeners: "fado is neither created nor seen, neither sought nor idealised. It merely happens… The Mystery of Fado…"

 

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Phone: +351 21 8860165