Casa do Infante

Take a look at this stone building, which barely stands out among the colourful façades. It holds one of the longest quarrels of medieval Porto: who ran the city, the bishop or the king?

1A customs house against the bishop

In 1325 King Afonso IV ordered a royal warehouse built by the river to collect duties on the goods arriving along the Douro. The bishop, lord of the city, objected: the customs house meant the Crown was dipping its hand into Porto's trade. The king went ahead anyway, and for centuries the building served as the Alfândega, the city's customs house. The royal mint was set up right next door.

2The prince who gave the house its name

Today's name comes from Henry the Navigator, son of John I and Philippa of Lancaster, who tradition says was born here in 1394. That he was born in Porto is certain: the municipal archive still holds the expenses for his baptism that year. That he came into the world in this very house is what cannot be proven.

Beneath the floor, excavations in the 1990s uncovered Roman remains, including mosaics: the first of their kind ever found in Porto.

Since 1980 the building has housed the Municipal Historical Archive, so the city's written memory now lives in its old customs house.

3What to look for

• The façade, rebuilt in the 17th century: an inscription dates it to 1677.
• How close the river is: walk down a few metres and you will see why the customs house stood here.
• The plaque on the house, recalling the prince.