Padrão dos Descobrimentos
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Padrão dos Descobrimentos (pron. IPA: [pɐ'dɾɐ̃ũ duʃ dɨʃkubɾi'mẽtuʃ]; lit. Monument to the Discoveries) 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 metre-high slab of concrete, carved into the shape of the prow of he Padrão dos Descobrimentos which faces away from the river features a carved sword which stretches for the full height of the monument. It was conceived by Portuguese artists Cottinelli Telmo and Leopoldo de Almeida as a temporary beacon of the Portuguese World's Fair of 1940. The Monument to the Discoveries represents a romantic idealisation of the Portuguese past that was typical during the regime of then-dictator Salazar.
The 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 Lusiads)
- 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 neighbourhood 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Hancock, Matthew. The Rough Guide to Lisbon, Rough Guides Ltd, London, 2003. ISBN 1-85-828906-8
- Weimer, Alois & Weimer-Langer, Britta. Portugal, GeoCenter International Ltd., Basingstoke, UK, 2000. ISBN 3-82-976110-4
