Monument to the Discoveries - see Pictures here
Padrão dos Descobrimentos is a monument that celebrates the Portuguese who took part in the Age of Discovery of the 15th and 16th centuries. It is located on the estuary of the Tagus river in the Belém parish of Lisbon, Portugal, where ships departed to their often unknown destinations.
The monument consists of a 52 meter-high slab of concrete, carved
into the shape of the prow of a ship. The side that faces away from
the river features a carved sword stretching the full height of the
monument. It was conceived by Portuguese artists, architect
Cottinelli Telmo and sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida as a temporary
beacon of the Portuguese World Fair in 1940. The Monument to the
Discoveries represents a romantic idealization of the Portuguese
past that was typical during the regime of dictator Salazar.
The original monument had been built with perishable materials, but it was rebuilt in concrete in 1960, in time for the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator, the sponsor of the Portuguese Discoveries. He is the figure at the tip of the monument, looking out over the river. Behind Henry, on both sides of the monument, are statues of other great people of that era, including explorers, cartographers, artists, scientists and missionaries.
Among the 30 featured Portuguese personalities are:
- Henry the Navigator (sponsor of the Age of Discovery)
- Vasco da Gama (discoverer of the sea route to India)
- Pedro Álvares Cabral (discoverer of Brazil)
- Ferdinand Magellan (first to circumnavigate the globe)
- Diogo Cão (first to arrive to the Congo river)
- Bartolomeu Dias (first to cross the Cape of Good Hope)
- Afonso de Albuquerque (second viceroy of Portuguese India)
- Luís de Camões (renaissance poet who celebrated the navigations in the epic Lusíadas)
- King Manuel I (ruler on the Age of Discovery)
- Pedro Nunes (16th century mathematician)
- Nuno Gonçalves (15th century painter)
A small space within the monument hosts a multimedia exhibition on the history of Lisbon. The top of the monument (reached via an elevator) offers wonderful views of the Tagus river, the Belém neighborhood and its many attractions, including the Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery, which date from the Age of Discovery.
The pavement in front of the monument features a mosaic decoration showing a world map with the routes of various Portuguese explorers and a wind rose. The mosaic was a gift from South Africa in 1960.
Informations
- ADDRESS: Avenida Brasília
- PHONE #: +351 21 303 19 50
- OPEN: Every day except Mondays from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
- PRICE: €1,80