Built from 1492 onwards, the Royal Hospital of All Saints became a model in public health and assistance. Its innovative concept is displayed through the adoption of European Renaissance architectonic proposals, and several other of its characteristics, all together bringing new habits to day-to-day life. The plan of the complex had the shape of a cross, with four yards on the corners, in which four wells provided water supply during the three century history of the building complex.
This paper analysis the hydraulic structures of the Hospital revealed by the excavations in Praça da Figueira in 1960 and in 1999-2001, and cope the archaeological data with the different architectonic phases recognized through the project «Hospital Real de Todos-os-Santos: a Cidade e a Saúde» research, considering their potential to explore functions and behaviours of the surrounding areas.
