Descubridores monument

    On our first day in Portugal we visited the famous Descubridores monument. On my trip to Portugal last year I remember seeing this monument but I never went up close to it. I was shocked at the scale of the men on the side. I bet that I am the same length as one of the mens calves. One of the professors said the statues are that big because they are supposed to be “larger than life”. This idea and style is used in fascist buildings/statues/monuments, so it makes sense that this was used. All the statues had immense amounts of details on them. One statue in particular, a knight, had such fine detail in his armor it must have taken the artist a long time. Something I noticed that made me laugh was that the majority of the statues all had the same ugly hairstyle. Only a few of the statues don’t have this hideous hair style, so you have to rely on the clothing and what they are holding in order to tell who they are. 

    This monument was built in remembrance of the age of discovery. All of the people on the monument contributed to this age in one way or another. There are 33 important figures on this monument which means it contains a lot of history. The man at the point of the monument is Henry the Navigator. I was able to learn that he “expanded the territory and wealth of Portugal” (National Geographic). The Descubridores monument is a fascist monument so it is no surprise that a man that expanded his country is at the center point. This whole monument is full of history. You could spend all day sitting in front of it picking random statues and researching them to see what they did for Portugal. 

    I think this monument contributes to Lisbon's cultural capital in many ways. First, I think it can provide Portuguese people with a sense of pride. They are able to look at all the people who helped get Portugal to where it is today. I know that I am able to feel some pride when I go to Washington DC and see the monuments of the people that have impacted America. I also think the monument is a great educational tool. People are able to go to the monument and learn about an important time in Portugal's history. I have said it many times but cities/countries that have a rich history and embrace that rich history are more likely to be a cultural capital. 

Source:

National Geographic Society. (n.d.). The legacy of henry the Navigator. National Geographic.https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/legacy-henry-navigator/