 Work began in March 1880, with Portuguese engineer of French descent Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard supervising the work.The funicular was inaugurated on 25 March 1882, and cost around 30 contos de réis.Its success was such that in the same year Mesnier was invited to design and install a series of funiculars and cable lifts in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, some of which are still in operation today.