The House of Snow

Where did the ice come from? At first snow was gathered in the Serra da Estrela and the Serra da Lousã, packed in pits and carried by ox-cart and donkey to the Tagus, then by boat to Lisbon. Later the Royal Ice Factory in the Serra de Montejunto, much closer to the city, froze water at night in shallow tanks. Julião bought and rebuilt it in January 1782, as an inscription above its door says, and he held the kingdom's monopoly on snow and ice. What was 'neve'? Not snow but flavoured ice, something between a sorbet and a granita. Eça de Queirós has a character taste orange and strawberry in 1877. In the 18th century the Casa da Neve even quarrelled with another historic café, Marrare, which also claimed a share of the ice reaching Lisbon. Sources disagree on small details: the opening year (1778 or 1782) and day (2 or 7 January), and when the café took the name of its owner, Martinho Bartolomeu Rodrigues (1829 or 1845). In between it was an Italian coffee house. Its guests are said to include Bocage, Eça de Queirós and Pessoa. The square had been rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake.