The Monument to the Discoveries, which honors the Portuguese overseas epic, has the shape of the bow of a ship. Located on the banks of the Tejo River, the monument recalls the ships that left Lisbon to discover new territories, as well as several illustrious figures from this period in the country’s history. Each side of the structure features a sculptural ensemble representing various personalities, particularly the figure of Prince Henry the Navigator at the top of the bow. The building has a reinforced concrete structure and an external stone cladding made of limestone slabs. The sculptures are also made of limestone.

The intervention

The intervention focused on the conservation and restoration of the stone, the monument’s external cladding and sculptures, and the metallic elements on the north facade.

The main stone works included the removal of biological colonization, cleaning of surfaces to eliminate stains, graffiti, and other abnormal inscriptions, treatment and consolidation of stone elements with disaggregation problems, joint treatment, fixation of detached stone elements, and bonding of fractured elements in the sculptural group.

Additional information

As this was an intervention on a monument, the principles of minimum intervention, reversibility, and compatibility were respected.