View source for Senado Square

{{Short description|Square in Macau}}
{{refimprove|date=July 2014}}
[[File:Centre of Makau.jpg|thumb|Senado Square during the day]]
[[Image:Macau Senate Square at Night.jpg|thumb|Senado Square]]
[[File:Largo do Senado.JPG|thumb|Sign in Portuguese and Chinese]]
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The '''Senado Square''', or '''Senate Square''' ({{zh|t=議事亭前地|cy=Yíh Sih Tìhng Chìhn Deih}}; {{langx|pt|Largo do Senado}}), is a paved [[town square]] in [[Sé, Macau|Sé]], [[Macau]], [[China]], and part of the [[UNESCO]] [[Historic Centre of Macau]] [[World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senado Square |url=http://en.macautourism.gov.mo/sightseeing/sightseeing_detail.php?c=10&id=147#.U6Crn5RmO7g |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714170312/http://en.macautourism.gov.mo/sightseeing/sightseeing_detail.php?c=10&id=147#.U6Crn5RmO7g |archive-date=2014-07-14 |access-date=2014-06-17 |website=Macau Government Tourism Office}}</ref> It is an elongated triangular shaped square and connects Largo do São Domingos at one end and [[Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro]] on the other. It covers an area of 3,700 square meters (4,425 square yards)

==History==
The square was named after the Leal Senado, a meeting place for the Chinese and Portuguese in the 16th to 18th centuries, located directly in front of the square, where [[Leal Senado Building]] stands today. In 1940, a small garden was built at the centre of the square, featuring a bronze statue of [[Vicente Nicolau de Mesquita]] standing above a stone pillar pulling out a sword. The statue was pulled down in the [[12-3 incident]] as Mesquita was responsible for the deaths of many Qing Chinese soldiers. A fountain was built at its site and still stands today.

Vast majority of the buildings around the square are European styled and many are protected monuments. The square used to allow traffic and parking lots were present, with increasing number of tourists the entire area was covered by [[Portuguese pavement]] in the early 1990s and designated a pedestrian-only zone.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senado Square |url=http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/macau/senado-square.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925175424/https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/macau/senado-square.htm |archive-date=2021-09-25 |access-date=2021-12-06 |website=Travel China Guide}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-08 |title=Calçada portuguesa: Da pedra fez-se mar |url=https://www.revistamacau.com.mo/2014/10/08/calcada-portuguesa-da-pedra-fez-se-mar/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Revista Macau |language=pt}}</ref>

Many large events in Macau were hosted on the square, this include festival celebrations, flea markets and performances. The governors of Macau also used to inspect their troops there. A number of Hong Kong films in the 1950s and 1960s had scenes shot at the square.

The 2005 100 [[Macanese pataca|patacas]] note issued by the [[Banco Nacional Ultramarino]] features the square on its obverse side.

==Buildings around the square==
* [[Holy House of Mercy]]
* [[Hotel Central]]
* [[Macau General Post Office]]
* [[Leal Senado Building]]
==See also==
*[[Statue Square]]
==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Largo do Senado}}
* {{OSM|w|192573684}}
{{Portal|Architecture}}

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{{Sé, Macau}}
{{Historic Centre of Macau}}
{{coord|22|11|36.9|N|113|32|22.8|E|display=title}}

[[Category:Squares in Macau]]
[[Category:Historic Centre of Macau]]


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