Reminders of the Português maritime prowess are on display in the Belem neighborhood of Lisboa. At the juncture where the Tagus River meets the Atlantic Ocean stands the ornately-decorated Torre de Belém (Belem Tower). This Manueline-styled structure may have been the very last image of their homeland those adventurous seafarers saw as they set off for unknown corners of the globe.
For some, the Tower was also a beacon to guide the weary traveler home as it did for the country’s most widely-known explorer, Vasco Da Gama. His tomb is just northeast of the fortification at the stunning Jeronimos Monastery.
Further east along the same coast of the Tagus river is a modern tribute to those souls of long ago who braved the unchartered waters: the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument of the Discoveries).
