In a sense all of Belem seems to be a tribute to the navigators. From Vasco da Gama’s tomb in the Church of Santa Maria to the themes of stone carvings and decorations at the Monastery of Jerome and the Torre de Belem. However, just in case some miss these subtle compliments even more direct tribute is paid at the Monument to the Discoveries and the Maritime Museum.
The Maritime Museum located in the west wing of the Jeronimos Monastery is well worth an hour or two. I visited on a weekday morning and it was deserted most of the time. Ample English descriptions are available at most exhibits.
The main hall is devoted to the Discoveries and depicts the development of seafaring from the fifteenth century onwards. Old and young will enjoy the scale models of ships, which graphically illustrate the development of technology and the constant increase in size of ships as new technology made larger construction possible. Also on display are maps and objects associated with the era of discoveries and naval instruments. Some are authentic and some are copies, for example the crosses that the navigators planted to show their continued progress along the coasts of Africa.
Further rooms depicting more modern ships are of lesser interest but towards the back of the museum are the exquisitely wood-paneled Royal Quarters taken from the early twentieth century royal yacht Amelia.
In a modern building across a small courtyard on the exit is a display of royal barges as well as a couple of seaplanes, including the Santa Clara which made the first South Atlantic crossing in 1922.
Across the formal gardens of Praca do Imperio on the banks of the River Tagus is the Monument to the Discoveries. The 52 meter high angular monument, resembling a caravel, was erected by the Salazar government in 1960 to commemorate the 500-year anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator.
On both sides of the monument are stone carvings of royalty, mariners, cartographers and other notables associated with the age of the discoveries. On the north side the paving has a massive compass with a world map showing the routes and the dates on which the Portuguese reached the new destinations.
It is possible to take an elevator up the inside of the monument for magnificent views of Belem, the Tagus River, Bridge of 25 April and the Torre de Belem.