With 50 meters high, the Discoveries Monument has the shape of a ship, comprising two ramps that ends on the prow with the statue of the initiator of the Discoveries Age – Henry, the Navigator. Also Fernão de Magalhães, Luís de Camões, Pedro Álvares Cabral and Vasco da Gama are some of the 32 figures sculpted in stone and that can be found on the monument. These represents an historical summary of personalities linked directly or indirectly to the Age of the Discoveries.
When it was designed, the Discoveries Monuments was considered of high relevance and artistical expression, therefore no detail was forgotten. Looking from the pavement in front of the entrance to this monument, it is possible to identify a sword. The sword that conquered the portuguese world! The pavement in front of the entrance has an enormous wind rose and a map with the routes of the discovery voyages inscribed in multicoloured marble. Framing this representation, of epic proportions, is one of the many beautiful examples of Portuguese pavement, with its undulating patterns, in black and white limestone.
Os Portugueses desde sempre demonstraram orgulho da sua história e em particular da era dos Descobrimentos. Foi do estuário do Rio Tejo que partiram as frotas dos grandes navegadores à descoberta do mundo, no século XV.
The original Discoveries Monument was built in 1940 for the Portuguese World Exhibition. It was designed by the architec and film-maker Continelli Telmo. It was built on perishable materials and dismantled three years later, in 1943.
O atual monumento é uma réplica, já construída em pedra e betão, com as figuras esculpidas em calcário. Inaugurada a 9 de Agosto de 1960 no âmbito das comemorações dos quinhentos anos da morte do Infante D. Henrique, o Navegador, este monumento é um dos principais pontos de interesse da cidade de Lisboa.
