PORTUGAL
Lisboa Region
LISBON
Padrão dos Descobrimentos
(Monument to the Discoveries)
Monday July 10th, 2017
The Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) was conceived in 1939 as a temporary beacon during the Portuguese World Exhibition opening in June 1940. Yet, by June 1943, the original structure was demolished after the exposition as there was no concrete formalization of the project. Between November 1958 and January 1960, the new monument was constructed in cement and rose-tinted stone (from Leiria), and the statues sculpted from limestone excavated from the region of Sintra.
The 52-metre-high (171 ft) monoment is located along the bank of the Tagus river and its design takes the form of the prow of a caravel (ship used in the early Portuguese exploration). On either side of the slab are ramps that join at the river's edge, with the figure of Henry the Navigator at the head of this. On either side of the Infante, along the ramp, are 16 figures (33 in total) representing figures from the Portuguese Age of Discovery. These great people of the era included monarchs, explorers, cartographers, artists, scientists and missionaries. Each idealized figure is designed to show movement towards the front (the unknown sea), projecting a direct or indirect synthesis of their participation in the events after Henry.
