MONUMENT TO THE DISCOVERIES

 

DESCRIPTION:

 

The 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 on its edge. On either side of the Infante, along the ramp, are 16 figures (33 in total) representing figures from the Portuguese Age of Discovery.

It was made of concrete and rose-tinted Leiria stone masonry. A compass rose adorns the square in front of the Monument. Made of black and red lioz limestone, it has a 50 m diameter, and contains a 14 m-wide planisphere decorated with vegetal elements, 5 small compass roses, 3 blowing faces personifying the wind, a mermaid, a mythical fish and Neptune with a trident and a trumpet, riding a marine beast. Dates, ships and caravels mark the main routes of the Portuguese expansion between the 15th and 16th centuries.

Inaugurated on 9 August 1960, it was one of several projects nationwide that were intended to mark the "Comemorações Henriquinas" (the celebrations marking the anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator).

 

*TICKETS PRICE:

Individual:(18 to 64 years) – 6 €

Minors:(comp. of their parents - 12 to 17 years) – 3 €

Senior:(> 65 years, proof of age must be shown) – 3 €

Child:(< 12 years) - free

 

*Prices are subject to alterations without prior notice, please confirm prices in the official website.