Portuguese Navigators Monument
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N 41° 27.002 W 071° 21.297
19T E 303291 N 4591393
The purpose of the monument is to recognize the contributions of the Portuguese to the exploration of the world and to the science of navigation, and to honor all Americans of Portuguese descent.
Waymark Code: WMCCTW
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 08/23/2011
Views: 59
Twenty feet high, the largest element, a major landmark, represents the carved stone markers left behind by Portuguese explorers at their landing sites around the world. The the partial stone globe is representative of an armillary sphere, an ancient navigational instrument used by the explorers and still displayed today on the flag of Portugal. The 14 smaller pieces arranged in a semi-circle around the edge of the work are an abstract representation of the points of a compass, echoing the the stone compass still found on the ground today in Sagres, Portugal, the site of Prince Henry the Navigator's world famous school of navigation. Only one of the smaller pieces is still standing.
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Text of the interpretive plaque:
"The monument before you honors the Portuguese navigators of the Golden Age of Maritime Exploration, which spanned from the early 1400’s to the late 1500’s. During this era, Portugal was the forerunner in maritime exploration -- both coasts of the United States were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese.
Brenton Point was chosen as the site for this monument because it is very reminiscent of Sagres, the point in southern Portugal where Prince Henry founded his School of Navigation in 1419. It was here that the maritime era emanated from the minds of the foremost scholars in mathematics, astronomy, cartography and those that were experts regarding the compass, the astrolabe, water currents and the winds.
There are eighteen elements in the Portuguese Navigators Monument: the sixteen elements placed in a semicircle are an abstraction of the circular compass rose at Sagres, which is all that remains of Prince Henry’s School of Navigation today. The elements are placed in a three-quarter sphere, which symbolizes the three-quarters of the world discovered by the Portuguese navigators in the fifteenth century.
The large multifaceted stone marker has been designed to evoke the tradition of explorers leaving behind a marker of their presence. The final element represents an armillary sphere, a navigational instrument which is one of Portugal’s most significant and enduring symbols. The sphere was added to the Portuguese flag in 1522 to commemorate Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe, and is still included on the country’s present flag.”
Text on the monument:
THIS MONUMENT IS A GIFT TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, FROM THE RHODE ISLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMEMORATION OF THE DISCOVERIES OF PORTUGAL AND COMMISSIONED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE PORTUGUESE CULTURAL FOUNDATION OF RHODE ISLAND. EDWARD D. DIPRETE, GOVERNOR; RICHARD A. LICHT, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. THE MIGUEL CORTE-REAL MONUMENT COMMITTEE. PROJECT: SCULPTOR, CHARLES DE ALMEIDA; ARCHITECT JOÃO SANTA-RITA. DEDICATED JUNE 10, 1988
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