Teatro Nacional São João

— Every day we were in Porto, we walked right by this beautiful national theatre, São João. Built at the end of the 18th century, the theatre opened its doors on May 13, 1798. Back then it was simply called Teatro do Príncipe (Prince’s Theatre). The name was given in honor of João Vi, who later became king of Portugal. In 1908, a major fire destroyed the theatre’s interior. A new theatre was then commissioned to be built on the same location. The present building was inaugurated on March 7, 1920, with the performance of Verdi’s Aida.