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Santa Maria de Belém, or just Belém is a parish of Lisbon, Portugal, located 6 km west of the present city centre and 2 km west of Ponte 25 de Abril (25 April Bridge). Its name is derived from the Portuguese for Bethlehem

Perhaps Belém's most famous feature is its tower, Torre de Belém, whose image is much used by Lisbon's tourist board. The tower was built as a fortified lighthouse late in the reign of Dom Manuel (1515–1520) to guard the entrance to the port at Belém. It stood on a little island in right side of the Tagus, surrounded by water

Belém is famous as the place from which many of the great Portuguese explorers set off on their voyages of discovery. In particular, it is the place from which Vasco da Gama departed for India in 1497. It is also a former royal residence and features the 17th-18th century Belém Palace, former royal residence and now occupied by the President of Portugal, and also nearby, in the Ajuda Parish, there is the Ajuda Palace, begun in 1802 but never completed

The tower was built in the early 16th century and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style, but it also incorporates hints of other architectural styles. The structure was built from lioz limestone and is composed of a bastion and the 30 m (100 foot), four storey tower.

It has incorrectly been stated that the tower was built in the middle of the Tagus and now sits near the shore because the river was redirected after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In fact, the tower was built on a small island in the Tagus River near the Lisbon shore

The 25 de Abril Bridge (Ponte 25 de Abril) is a suspension bridge inaugurated 1966 (a train platform was added in 1999) often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA.

With a total length of 2,277 m, it is the 23rd largest suspension bridge in the world. The upper deck carries six car lanes, while the lower deck carries two train tracks. Until 1974, the bridge was named Salazar Bridge (Ponte Salazar). The name "25 de Abril" commemorates the Carnation Revolution

The Christ the King statue (Cristo-Rei) is a Catholic monument and shrine dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ overlooking the city of Lisbon. Inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, the giant statue in cement was erected to symbolize the gratitude the Portuguese were spared the effects of World War II

Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) is a monument on the northern bank of the Tagus River estuary, in the parish of Santa Maria de Belém. Located along the river where ships departed to explore and trade with India and Orient, the monument celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery (or Age of Exploration) during the 15th and 16th centuries.It was conceived in 1939 by Portuguese architect José Ângelo Cottinelli Telmo, and sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida, as a temporary beacon during the Portuguese World Fair opening in June 1940.

The Monument to the Discoveries represented a romanticized idealization of the Portuguese exploration that was typical of the Estado Novo regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. It was originally constructed as a temporary construction, located in the Praça do Império, demolished after the exposition.

The South African government was responsible for gifting the construction of the square in front of the monument: the 50-metre-diameter (160 ft) Rosa-dos-Ventos (compass rose) was executed using different types of marble.

Designed by the architect Cristino da

Silva, it includes a

Mappa mundi that is 14

metres wide, showing the

routes of Portuguese

carracks and caravels during

the Age of Discovery.

The new project was enlarged from the original 1940 model as part of the commemorations to celebrate the fifth centennial of the death of Infante Henry the Navigator.

(To Prince Henry and the Portuguese that Discovered the Roads of the Sea)The double staircase ascends one level, before the entranceway to the monument, allowing a perspective on the square and the lateral figures

Peter, Duke of Coimbra (son of King

John I of Portugal),

Queen Philippa of Lancaster

and Fernão Mendes

Pinto (explorer

and writer)

D. Philippa of Lancaster, (31 March 1360 – 19 July 1415) was a Queen consort of Portugal. Born into the royal family of England, her 1387 marriage with King John I of Portugal secured the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance (1373–1386) and produced several children who became known as the "Illustrious Generation" in Portugal. She was the eldest daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and Blanche of Lancaster, and a sister of King Henry IV of England.She was the mother of Henry the Navigator (1394–1460)

Queen Philippa of Lancaster, Fernão Mendes Pinto (explorer and writer) and Friar Gonçalo de Carvalho

Fernão Mendes Pinto (explorer and writer), Friar Gonçalo de Carvalho and Friar Henrique Carvalho

Luís de Camões (renaissance poet who celebrated the navigations in the epic Lusiads) and Nuno Gonçalves (painter)

Luís Vaz de Camões (1524 –1580) is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet.

Luís de Camões (renaissance poet who celebrated the navigations in the epic Lusiads)

The House of Aviz

Ferdinand the Holy Prince. The image take in 1940 come from an amazing archive of photographs shared by the Biblioteca de Arte-Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. They’re a wonderful record from the time and they give an idea of the fantastic scale in which these sculptures were made.

Ferdinand the Holy Prince (son of King John I of Portugal) was the youngest of the "Illustrious Generation" of 15th-century Portuguese princes of the House of Aviz and was lay administrator of the Knightly Order of Aviz.

Detail showing Pedro Nunes holding an armillary sphere (center). To his left, Jácome de Maiorca and Pedro Escobar; to his right, Pêro de Alenquer, Gil Eanes and João Gonçalves Zarco.

Pedro Escobar (navigator)

Pedro Escobar

In addition to the main statue of Henry the Navigator, holding a model of a carrack, on either side of the ramps of the monument are a total of 33 figures from the history of the Discoveries

Henry the Navigator, King Afonso V of Portugal, Vasco da Gama (discoverer of the sea route to India), Afonso Gonçalves Baldaia (navigator), Pedro Álvares Cabral (discoverer of Brazil)

The interior consists of three areas: the auditorium with space for 101 people, a stage of 18 square metres (190 sq ft), with film projection booth; a secondary level with two halls for exhibition; and the last level with four rooms

The original structure, which Telmo, Barros and Almeida created, was erected in steel and cement, while the 33 statues was produced in a composite of plaster and tow. Ostensibly a 52-metre-high (171 ft) slab standing vertically along the bank of the Tagus, 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. These great people of the era included monarchs, explorers, cartographers, artists, scientists and missionaries. Each idealized figure is designed to show movement towards the front (the unknown sea), projecting a direct or indirect synthesis of their participation in the events after Henry

Detail showing Estêvão da Gama (far left) and António Abreu (far right), Bartolomeu Dias (centre left) and Diogo Cão (centre right) raise a padrão/marker

Portugal's Monument to the Discoveries, a secular shrine shaped like the Portuguese ships called caravels. Statues of the explorers and their royal patrons stand at the top in proud formation, looking out over the water at the distant horizon. King Afonso V and Vasco da Gama are there, along with Prince Henry the Navigator, who started 14th century explorations of Africa.

Infante Henry, Duke of Viseu (1394 –1460), better known as Henry the Navigator, was an important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and the Age of Discoveries in total. He was responsible for the early development of European exploration and maritime trade with other continents.Henry was the third child of King John I of Portugal, founder of the Aviz dynasty, and of Philippa of Lancaster, John of Gaunt's daughter. Henry encouraged his father to conquer Ceuta (1415), the Muslim port on the North African coast across the Straits of Gibraltar from the Iberian peninsula. He learnt of the opportunities from the Saharan trade routes that terminated there, and became fascinated with Africa in general. Henry is regarded as the patron of Portuguese exploration.Henry did not sail on the ships but initiated the age of the discoveries by setting up a School of Navigation where the leading navigators, cartographers and seamen of Europe came to work. He was the third son of João and Philippa (of Lancaster - daughter of John of Gaunt) and was the Grand Master of the Order of Christ whose vast wealth Henry used to finance his maritime activities.

The top of the monument (reached via an elevator or stairs) offers views of the Tagus river, the Belém neighborhood and its many attractions, including the Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery, which date from the Age of Discovery.

View of the Praça do Império, and, in front, the Jerónimos. The square commemorates the Portuguese Empire and was built for the Exhibition of the Portuguese World in 1940

Hipocampus and Portuguese Calcadas in Praça do Império. Today the "Portuguese pavements" are still made by hand, and are part of the country's heritage and identity, continuing to decorate the streets and squares all over Portugal.

Monument to Artur de Sacadura Cabral, Portuguese aviation pioneer. In 1922, Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral, two Portugese naval officers, made the first successful aircraft crossing of the southern Atlantic Ocean, travelling between Portugal and Brazil. Their trip took them 19 days to complete

Sound: Amália Rodrigues - Nem As Paredes Confesso; Lisboa Antiga; Maria Lisboa

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu Gabrielea Cristescu InternetCopyrights of the photos belong to each photographer

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda