They say that King D. Manuel I ordered upholster the port of Lisbon to receive, without mud on the floor, the Basque navigator Gama returned from his first trip to India by sea. But the Portuguese road, as now known, resulted from a study performed in 1842. He then executed a first paved with black and white pebbles. Then there were no calceteiros, which explains that this first road has been served by prisoners. The result could not have been better: where there used to be spent clay magnificent decorated surface. So that the City of Lisbon quickly granted funds for the paving of Rossio, in an area of 8712m2. In late 1849, the entire plate was paved central
with a wavy pattern which became known as the long sea (open sea).

The designs of the road-mosaic, including subjects as diverse as armillary spheres, ships and ships, compass roses, ropes, crosses, crowns, crests, emblems, ocean waves, seaweed, starfish, anchors, stylized animals and birds, dolphins and crabs. Until early this century, the designs were made by the craftsmen themselves calceteiros that were inspired by traditional motifs. In the fifties changed and designs began to be made by architects and artists.