Between the ecclesiastical city and the laborious city, Praça Luis de Camões - the old Praça Velha - has long provided the most central and most popular public space, concentrating the presence of the religious power, the Cathedral, and the civil power for a long time. the building of the old Town Hall, dating from 1570, with administrative, political and judicial functions. Around these imposing buildings are the noble houses, belonging to wealthy families, such as the Solar dos Póvoas, the Balcões building.