Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument To The Discoveries), Lisbon

A visit to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos. This lookout point, rather lacking in introspection, ended up being one of my favourite sights in Lisbon thanks to a great temporary exhibition.

Padrão dos Descobrimentos

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And when in Lisbon in the autumn, pack in all your outdoor activities when it’s not raining. The Padrão dos Descobrimentos in Belém wasn’t really on our radar for our long weekend. But when we arrived in Belém and wandered past the monument to find that a) it wasn’t raining and b) the queue was very short, it seemed like a no-brainer.

This is Portugal’s Monument to the Discoveries – ie. to exploration and empire. It takes the shape of the prow of a caraval (ship of early explorers). Prince Henry the Navigator is depicted, as well as explorers, scientists, missionaries, artists and others. Inside, the main event is a viewing platform from which you can look out at the River Tagus, the Jerónimos Monastery and the rest of Belém. At the base of the Monument is a large compass rose and mappa mundi, the gift of South Africa. Back inside, there is also an auditorium and exhibition spaces (more on this below).

1960 seems quite late to be building a wholly celebratory monument to your Age of Discovery. Despite the return of jingoistic nationalism in many countries, I would like to think that these days no project would get signed off which essentially posits colonialism as a wonderful and heroic thing. But it makes a bit more sense when you take into account that the first/temporary version of this Monument to the Discoveries dated to 1939; and that this type of romanticised idealism was pretty typical of the Salazar regime.

Anyway, as lookout points go it’s quite nice. We had good views even on a pretty bad day weather-wise. And the clean modernist lines of the Monument itself are quite nice. You do have to check your wokeness at the door a little not to mind the pro-colonialism vibe… Read on for a complete vibe change in Part II!

Visions of Empire

In the basement of the Padrão dos Descobrimentos was a temporary exhibition which completely upended what I thought of the place. Visões do Império (Visions of Empire) looks at the role played by photography in the history of modern Portuguese colonialism. This role includes the dissemination and control of knowledge; commercial uses; defining a vision of the “Other”; but also denouncing iniquities; and setting out a hopeful vision for the future.

I really enjoyed this exhibition. Some of the images are tough to look at, but I don’t know much about former Portuguese colonies so I appreciated being able to learn. The exhibition is curated thematically, and there are fantastic texts throughout. Transparency is the key to success here – we see the authors’ names, which takes away the infallibility of the curatorial voice. We can see at a glance personal points of view vs. products of pure research And the texts are crystal clear. Colonial authorities learned about cultures and customs because otherwise it’s not possible to collect taxes, secure labour and exploit resources. Development programmes were still “marked by profound racial inequality and discrimination” well into the second half of the 20th Century. These are examples selected at random from the excellent exhibition handout, which you can read in full here.

After the slightly uneasy feeling I had looking at the heroic explorers outside, Visions of Empire felt like a complete 180. Well done to curators Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo and Joana Pontes for this fascinating, challenging and important exhibition. I learned not only about Portuguese colonialism, but had the chance to reflect on the uses and abuses of photography both in service of those in power and as resistance. Not what I was expecting from my visit to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos but such a welcome surprise!

Padrão dos Descobrimentos: 3/5
Visions of Empire: 4.5/5

Visions of Empire on until 30 December 2021