The days of freedom

From the MFA command post to the Constituent Assembly — the week that changed everything, and the 27 women who wrote the Constitution

How it’s done: By metro and train
Stops: 7
Difficulty: Easy

Start the walk

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25 April did not end at the Carmo. In the days that followed, the political prisoners walked out of Caxias, the exiles came home by train and by plane, and on 1 May 1974 Lisbon filled the streets for the first Workers’ Day in freedom.¹ A year later, on 25 April 1975, people voted for the first time in free elections with universal suffrage — and twenty women were elected to the Constituent Assembly.²

This route follows those days, from the barracks where the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) commanded the revolution to the palace where the Constitution was written. It is done by metro and train, and can be done in parts.

Before you go

Start: Pontinha Barracks (MFA Command Post) — Metro Pontinha (blue line)
Finish: Palácio de São Bento (Assembly of the Republic) — Tram 28 (Calçada da Estrela stop); Metro Rato (yellow line), ten minutes’ walk away
Accessibility of the route: A full-day route, by metro and train, which can be done in parts. Caxias is in Oeiras, a train ride from Cais do Sodré (Cascais line); the rest is in Lisbon, near metro stations. Wheelchair users should check on the Metropolitano de Lisboa and CP websites which stations have lifts.

This walk in dates

16 May 1958
- Humberto Delgado arrives at Santa ApolóniaStop 3 · 28 April — the train from exile
22 Apr 1974
- Montagem do Posto de Comando da Pontinha e da rede de escutasStop 1 · 25 April — the command post
24 Apr 1974
- Otelo instala o posto de comando do MFA na PontinhaStop 1 · 25 April — the command post
25 Apr 1974
- Spínola no Carmo; Caetano sai na chaimite «Bula»Stop 1 · 25 April — the command post

8 more dates

26 Apr 1974
- Tomada de Caxias e libertação dos presos políticosStop 2 · 26 April — “All of us or none”
28 Apr 1974
- Mário Soares chega do exílio a Santa ApolóniaStop 3 · 28 April — the train from exile
30 Apr 1974
- Álvaro Cunhal chega do exílio ao aeroportoStop 4 · 30 April — Cunhal returns
1 May 1974
- Primeiro 1.º de Maio em liberdadeStop 5 · 1 May 1974 — the city in the streets
25 Apr 1975
- Eleição da Assembleia Constituinte: 20 deputadasStop 7 · The 27 women of the Constituent Assembly
2 Jun 1975
- Sessão inaugural da Assembleia ConstituinteStop 7 · The 27 women of the Constituent Assembly
12 Nov 1975
- Trabalhadores da construção civil cercam a Assembleia ConstituinteStop 7 · The 27 women of the Constituent Assembly
2 Apr 1976
- Assembleia Constituinte aprova a Constituição da RepúblicaStop 7 · The 27 women of the Constituent Assembly

The stops

1
Stop 1: 25 April — the command post
Quartel da Pontinha, Av. do Regimento de Engenharia n.º 1, 1675-103 Pontinha
Today: The MFA Command Post Museum, in the Pontinha Barracks
In an annexe of these barracks of Engineering Regiment No. 1, prepared in secret, Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho and a handful of officers directed the operations of 25 April: windows covered with blankets, tables with radios and telephones, military maps of Lisbon on the walls, and the intercepted radio traffic of the GNR, the Legion, the DGS and the PSP coming in through a cable rigged up in secret.³
Early in the evening the Chaimite armoured car “Bula” arrived, with Marcelo Caetano and two ministers, who were held here until morning.⁵⁶ Since 2001 the command post has been a museum; it reopened in 2025 after building work.⁴
What you can see today
The command post itself is a museum, in a building classified as a national monument.⁴
The second chapter of the film made from the photographs Alfredo Cunha took in Lisbon on 25 April 1974, with music by Rodrigo Leão, directed by Miguel Brugo, and published by the Commission on 14 February 2024. It follows the book of the same name, in which this part has a text by Adelino Gomes and pictures of the Ribeira das Naus, Rua do Arsenal and Largo do Carmo.
Original page Licença padrão do YouTube — embed permitido pelo canal oficial da Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril
Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril, on YouTube. The player only connects to that site when you press “Watch”.
RTP Arquivos · Video · broadcast on 26 April 1974 · 9 minConferência de Imprensa da Junta de Salvação Nacional na PontinhaThe National Salvation Junta’s press conference at the Pontinha barracks, in the early hours of 26 April. General Spínola answers questions from Portuguese and foreign journalists; RTP also identifies Costa Gomes.Open in the archive
The story of the place See on the map
To stop 2by metro, train or busDirections
2
Stop 2: 26 April — “All of us or none”
Estrada Militar, Caxias, 2784-513 Oeiras (concelho de Oeiras)
Today: Caxias Prison
O Forte de Caxias, hoje Estabelecimento Prisional de Caxias, visto da encosta em 2022. GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0
At Caxias the political police resisted, and the release was delayed: the National Salvation Junta wanted to separate those imprisoned for ideological reasons from those accused of common crimes. “All of us or none” (Ou todos ou ninguém), the prisoners replied. Close to midnight the order came to release them all; they began to walk out at 00:30 on 27 April, and by one in the morning there were no political prisoners left in Caxias.⁷
Among the women released were the journalists Helena Neves and Elvira Nereu. From 1938, it was in the North Redoubt of this fort that women political prisoners were held on remand and served their sentences.⁸¹⁶
What you can see today
A plaque commemorating the release of the political prisoners was unveiled on 26 April 2019, with lines by Manuel Alegre: “I shall pass through the cities / Like the wind over the sands / and open all the windows / and open all the jails” (Hei de passar nas cidades / Como o vento nas areias / e abrir todas as janelas / e abrir todas as cadeias).¹⁷ On Estrada da Gibalta, next to Caxias station, a steel sculpture by Sérgio Vicente, unveiled on 10 June 2020, represents the number of prisoners who passed through the fort between 1936 and 1974.¹⁸¹⁹
- 26 Apr 1974Tomada de Caxias e libertação dos presos políticos
Conceição Matos and Domingos Abrantes tell together, in a testimony recorded by the museum on 7 October 2015, of life underground, imprisonment and torture. The museum’s keywords include the Aljube prison, Caxias, the PIDE interrogations and the escape from Caxias.
Original page Licença padrão do YouTube — embed permitido pelo canal oficial do Museu do Aljube
Museu do Aljube Resistência e Liberdade, on YouTube. The player only connects to that site when you press “Watch”.
RTP Arquivos · Video · broadcast on 25 April 1974 · 36 minAcontecimentos da Revolução de 25 de Abril de 1974Footage of the day of the revolution and the early hours of the next: the Palácio da Independência occupied by the Democratic Electoral Commission (CDE), soldiers and civilians in the Rossio, soldiers at the gate of Caxias prison, from which Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho emerges, and Largo do Carmo. It ends with the National Salvation Junta on television.Open in the archive
The story of the place See on the map
To stop 3by metro, train or busDirections
3
Stop 3: 28 April — the train from exile
Avenida Infante D. Henrique / Rua dos Caminhos de Ferro, 1100-094 Lisboa
Today: Santa Apolónia railway station
A fachada da Estação de Santa Apolónia, em junho de 2020. Vitor Oliveira, CC BY-SA 2.0
On the 25th, Mário Soares was in Bonn. Three days later he arrived here by train, with Maria Barroso, also a founder of the Socialist Party. A crowd was waiting for them; Soares spoke from a balcony of the station, loudhailer in hand.⁹ The Casa Comum photographs show Ramos da Costa and Manuel Tito de Morais on the balcony with them.¹⁰
The station had seen another crowd before: the one that waited for Humberto Delgado in May 1958, which the GNR dispersed with baton charges through the Baixa.¹¹
What you can see today
A municipal plaque bearing Humberto Delgado’s likeness, unveiled on 16 May 2008.
- 28 Apr 1974Mário Soares chega do exílio a Santa Apolónia
- 16 May 1958Humberto Delgado arrives at Santa Apolónia
Fernanda Gonçalves tells how she heard about the revolution while in Aveiro, arrived the next day at Santa Apolónia on a train full of friends and went on to Caxias, where thousands of people were waiting for the political prisoners to come out. She remembers the passage the crowd kept open for the negotiations with the PIDE, inside.
Original page Licença padrão do YouTube — embed permitido pelo canal oficial da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa
Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, on YouTube. The player only connects to that site when you press “Watch”.
RTP Arquivos · Video · broadcast on 28 April 1974 · 7 minRegresso de Mário SoaresMário Soares arrives from exile at Santa Apolónia station, speaks from the balcony and answers journalists’ questions; in the crowd are Palma Inácio and Humberto Delgado’s widow. He then goes on to the Cova da Moura, where General Spínola receives him.Open in the archive
The story of the place See on the map
To stop 4by metro, train or busDirections
4
Stop 4: 30 April — Cunhal returns
Alameda das Comunidades Portuguesas, 1700-111 Lisboa
Today: Humberto Delgado Airport
O Terminal 1 do Aeroporto Humberto Delgado, na Portela, em 2021. Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0
In the early hours of 25 April, soldiers from the Infantry Practical School occupied the airport and closed the airspace. On the morning of the 26th, Marcelo Caetano and Américo Tomás left from here on an Air Force plane for Funchal.¹²
On 30 April Álvaro Cunhal arrived after fourteen years in exile, greeted by a crowd; he climbed onto a Chaimite to speak to it. That day, a communiqué from the National Salvation Junta authorised the return of all political exiles.⁹
- 30 Apr 1974Álvaro Cunhal chega do exílio ao aeroporto
RTP Arquivos · Video · broadcast on 30 April 1974 · 7 minRegresso de Álvaro CunhalÁlvaro Cunhal arrives at Portela airport after fourteen years in exile and is embraced by Mário Soares and Maria Barroso. He speaks to the journalists and the crowd and goes on to the Cova da Moura to meet Spínola.Open in the archive
The story of the place See on the map
To stop 5by metro, train or busDirections
5
Stop 5: 1 May 1974 — the city in the streets
Alameda D. Afonso Henriques, 1900-006 Lisboa
Today: Alameda D. Afonso Henriques / the Fonte Monumental (Fonte Luminosa)
A Fonte Monumental, ou Fonte Luminosa, no topo da Alameda D. Afonso Henriques, em setembro de 2014. Felix König, CC BY 3.0
On 27 April a decree made May Day (1 May) a national holiday — the revolution’s first legal achievement, in the words of the Aljube Museum.¹ In Lisbon the march gathered here, on the Alameda, and went on to the stadium of the former FNAT. The Commemorative Commission estimates that around a million people took to the streets across the country; the 25 April Documentation Centre, that around five hundred thousand marched in Lisbon.³¹³
- 1 May 1974Primeiro 1.º de Maio em liberdade
The third chapter of Alfredo Cunha’s film (music by Rodrigo Leão, directed by Miguel Brugo), published by the Commission on 14 February 2024, with photographs from the months that followed the revolution. In the book, this part has a text by Fernando Rosas and includes the rally of the first May Day (1 May) in freedom, at the stadium of the National Foundation for Joy at Work (FNAT).
Original page Licença padrão do YouTube — embed permitido pelo canal oficial da Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril
Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril, on YouTube. The player only connects to that site when you press “Watch”.
RTP Arquivos · Video · broadcast on 1 May 1974 · 7 minManifestação do 1º de Maio em LisboaThe May Day (1 May) march of 1974, from Alameda D. Afonso Henriques to the Estádio 1.º de Maio (May Day Stadium), with carnations, placards and people on the balconies. Mário Soares, Álvaro Cunhal and José Manuel Tengarrinha wave side by side.Open in the archive
The story of the place See on the map
To stop 6by metro, train or busDirections
6
Stop 6: The renamed stadium
Rua Silva e Albuquerque / Avenida do Rio de Janeiro, 1700-360 Lisboa
Today: Estádio 1.º de Maio
O Estádio 1.º de Maio, do INATEL — o antigo Estádio da FNAT —, em 2007. Paulo Juntas, CC BY-SA 2.5
The stadium belonged to the FNAT, the National Foundation for Joy at Work, a regime body; that day it was renamed Estádio 1.º de Maio (May Day Stadium). Mário Soares and Álvaro Cunhal arrived surrounded by thousands of people and embraced at the rally, under the slogan “Peace, Bread and Freedom” (Paz, Pão e Liberdade). The Commemorative Commission calls it the first and last May Day in unity.³
- 1 May 1974Primeiro 1.º de Maio em liberdade
The third chapter of Alfredo Cunha’s film (music by Rodrigo Leão, directed by Miguel Brugo), published by the Commission on 14 February 2024, with photographs from the months that followed the revolution. In the book, this part has a text by Fernando Rosas and includes the rally of the first May Day (1 May) in freedom, at the stadium of the National Foundation for Joy at Work (FNAT).
Original page Licença padrão do YouTube — embed permitido pelo canal oficial da Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril
Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril, on YouTube. The player only connects to that site when you press “Watch”.
RTP Arquivos · Video · broadcast on 1 May 1974 · 27 minComício do 1º de Maio em LisboaThe rally of the first May Day (1 May) in freedom, at the Estádio 1.º de Maio (May Day Stadium), opened by the journalist Adelino Gomes. Francisco Pereira de Moura, Nuno Teotónio Pereira and Mário Soares speak, and Soares embraces Álvaro Cunhal.Open in the archive
The story of the place See on the map
To stop 7by metro, train or busDirections
7
Stop 7: The 27 women of the Constituent Assembly
Palácio de São Bento, Largo das Cortes, Lisboa
Today: Assembly of the Republic
O Palácio de São Bento, sede da Assembleia da República, em junho de 2014. Albarubescens, CC BY-SA 4.0
On 25 April 1975, in the first free elections, twenty women were elected among the 250 deputies to the Constituent Assembly; with resignations and replacements, twenty-seven came to hold a seat, among them Maria Alda Nogueira, Helena Roseta and Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen. Only six sat on committees, and only one chaired one: Sophia, the committee that drafted the preamble. In the plenary sessions the men were addressed as “Sr. Deputado” (Mr Deputy); the women, often, as “minha senhora” (madam).²
The Constitution approved here on 2 April 1976 forbids, in Article 13, favouring or disadvantaging anyone on grounds of sex, and gives spouses, in Article 36, equal rights and duties.¹⁴ The Civil Code had to be revised so that it no longer made the husband the “head of household”.¹⁵
What you can see today
Busts of two women deputies: Maria Alda Nogueira, in the cloister (CIG; sculptor António Trindade, according to Wikipedia), and Natália Correia (according to Wikipedia, the only two women deputies with a bust in the Assembly).
A short piece from Parliament’s series “Cápsula do Tempo” (Time Capsule), devoted to the women in the Constituent Assembly of 1975–1976.
Original page Licença padrão do YouTube — embed permitido pelo canal oficial da Assembleia da República
Assembleia da República, on YouTube. The player only connects to that site when you press “Watch”.
RTP Arquivos · Video · broadcast on 2 June 1975 · 28 minAbertura solene da Assembleia ConstituinteThe opening session of the Constituent Assembly, at São Bento, opened by Henrique de Barros. President Costa Gomes reads a message to the deputies, who give him a standing ovation.Open in the archive
The story of the place See on the map

Notes on the sources2

The date of Mário Soares’s arrival: Sunday 28 April in most of the Casa Comum photographs; another photograph and a blog give 27 April.
The figures for May Day 1974 (around a million across the country, around five hundred thousand people in Lisbon) are estimates with no primary source given.

Do you know more, or do you have a document? Tell us.