The Monument to the Restorers ( pt, Monumento aos Restauradores) is a monument located in
Restauradores Square
Restauradores Square ( pt, Praça dos Restauradores) is a public square in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. It is located at the southeast end of Avenida da Liberdade (Lisbon), Avenida da Liberdade, near Rossio, Rossio square.
Details
The square ...
in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The monument memorializes the victory of the
Portuguese Restoration War
The Portuguese Restoration War ( pt, Guerra da Restauração) was the war between History of Portugal (1640–1777), Portugal and Habsburg Spain, Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon (1668), ...
. The war, which saw the end of the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
and the rise of the
House of Braganza
The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, SerenÃssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Ame ...
, lasted from 1640 to 1668. The monument was designed by António Tomás da Fonseca and erected in 1886.
History
The was established in 1861 as reaction to groups defending
Iberian federalism
Iberism ( Aragonese, Basque, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish: ''Iberismo''; ast, Iberismu; Catalan and Occitan: ''Iberisme''), also known as pan-Iberism or Iberian federalism, is the pan-nationalist ideology supporting a unification of all th ...
. The patriotic society was founded by Feliciano de Andrade Moura, a Lisbon merchant, and soon attracted notable figures of Portuguese society, such as
Alexandre Herculano
Alexandre Herculano de Carvalho e Araújo (28 March 181013 September 1877) was a Portuguese novelist and historian.
Early life
Herculano's family had humble origins. One of his grandfathers was a foreman stonemason in the royal employ. Herculan ...
and
Anselmo Braamcamp Freire. One of the main goals of the commission was to properly memorialise the anniversaries of the
Portuguese Restoration of Independence from the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
in 1640.
After successfully lobbying the
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
, in October 1875, it was decided that "a great landmark of stone and bronze, to attest for posterity the bold achievements of those who distinguished themselves in 1640, setting us free" would be built on south end of the
Public Promenade — itself replaced by the
Avenida da Liberdade
Avenida da Liberdade (Portuguese for ''"Avenue of Liberty"'') is a boulevard in central Lisbon, Portugal, known for being one of the most expensive shopping streets in Europe. Originating in the '' Passeio Público'', an 18th-century park built ...
, a
Parisian-style
boulevard
A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway.
Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls.
In American usage, boulevards may ...
, as the city expanded north in the 1880s.
The obelisk was designed by
António Tomás da Fonseca, and two allegorical statues of Independence and of Victory were sculpted by
Alberto Nunes and , respectively.
Description
The monument stands on a square stone platform with truncated vertices, on which stand ornate iron streetlights, set on limestone plinths. The obelisk proper stands on a wide three-tiered base: the first two tiers mix concave and convex surfaces and bear, on the southern face, the inscription:
The third tier features several pilasters, those in the corners decorated with carved laurel wreaths, topped by a cornice and a denticulate frieze. Above the base stand two bronze allegorical figures: the one on the southern face, a winged male draped in a flag and holding the broken chains of foreign domain, is Independence; the one on the northern face, a winged classically-dressed female figure holding a palm on one hand and a laurel wreath on the other, is Victory; the eastern and western faces show stone panoplies.
Above the base, two parallelepipedal plinths are inscribed with allusions to the decisive battles of the
Restoration War: 1 December 1640, the date of the Restoration of Independence, on the south face; 26 May 1644, the date of the
Battle of Montijo
The Battle of Montijo was fought on 26 May 1644, in Montijo, Spain, between Portuguese and Spanish forces. Although the battle ended with a Portuguese victory, the Spanish saw it as a strategic success as they claimed to have prevented Matias d ...
, on the east face; 8 June 1663, the date of the
Battle of Ameixial
The Battle of Ameixial, was fought on 8 June 1663, near the village of Santa Vitória do Ameixial, some north-west of Estremoz, between Spain, Spanish and Portugal, Portuguese as part of the Portuguese Restoration War. In Spain, the battle is b ...
, on the west face; and 17 June 1665, the date of the
Battle of Montes Claros
The Battle of Montes Claros was fought on 17 June 1665, near Vila Viçosa, between Spanish and a combined Anglo-Portuguese force as the last major battle in the Portuguese Restoration War. The battle resulted in a decisive Portuguese victory and ...
, on the north face. The two plinths are topped by cornices supported by consoles.
The obelisk proper stands above this array of plinths: it is 14.6 meters (48 ft)
in height and it bears several inscriptions on each face, separated by decorative grooves, recalling important events of the war: on the southern face, along with the
national arms, the inscriptions "
Angra, 16 March 1642" and "
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, 15 December 1640"; on the east face, "
Badajoz
Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The population ...
, 22 July 1658", "
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...
, 17 January 1654", "
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
, 15 August 1648", "
Santo Aleixo
Santo (' saint' in various languages) may refer to:
People
* Santo (given name)
* Santo (surname)
* El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor
* Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwad ...
, 12 August 1641"; on the northern face, along with the
municipal arms of
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, the inscriptions "
Peace Treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...
, 13 February 1668", "
Vila Viçosa
Vila Viçosa () is a town and a municipality in the District of Évora, Alentejo in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 8,319, in an area of 194.86 km².
The municipal holiday is August 16.
Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is d ...
, 14 June 1665"; and on the western side, "
Castelo Rodrigo, 7 July 1664", "
Almeida, 2 July 1663", "
Évora
Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District.
Due to its well-preserved old to ...
, 4 June 1663", and "
Elvas
Elvas () is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and about west of the Spanish fortress ...
, 14 January 1659".
See also
*
Restauradores Square
Restauradores Square ( pt, Praça dos Restauradores) is a public square in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. It is located at the southeast end of Avenida da Liberdade (Lisbon), Avenida da Liberdade, near Rossio, Rossio square.
Details
The square ...
References
{{coord, 38.7158, N, 9.1417, W, source:wikidata, display=title
Monuments and memorials in Lisbon
Buildings and structures completed in 1886
1886 establishments in Portugal
Obelisks in Portugal