The Praça do Império (''Empire Square'') is a
city square
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
and park situated adjacent to principal monuments and tourist attractions in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
of
Belém
Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...
,
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
capital of
Lisbon.
History
Between 23 June and 2 December 1940, Lisbon realized the ''Exposição do Mundo Português'' (''Portuguese World Exposition''), that included an urbanization plan that encompassed the area of Belém, that included the ''Praça do Império''.
The sculptures of the seahorses, that dominate the site, were completed by sculptor António Duarte were installed in 1940.
[
A project to construct the ''Palácio do Ultramar'' (''Overseas Palace'') was initiated in 1952, situated on the eastern edge of the park, authored by architects Cristino da Silva and Jacques Carlu.][
In 1973, a commemorative monument to the poet Augusto Gil (1873-1929) was installed on the site, that included a bronze medallion and inscription by the municipal council of Lisbon.][
The roads around the square were used as a special stage in the 2011 to 2014 Rally de Portugal.
]
Architecture
The park is situated to the south of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Belém and west of the Centro Cultural de Belém.[
The rectangular square consists of successive quadrangles, that structure the space into passages and greenspaces.][ These converge in the central illuminated fountain on a square platform, covering an area of .][ On the extreme edges of the southern part of the square, along the ''Avenida da Índia'' are ]hippocamp
The hippocampus or hippocamp, also ''hippokampos'' (plural: hippocampi or hippocamps; grc, ἱππόκαμπος, from , "horse" and , "sea monster" statues (seahorses), over reflecting pools.[
]
References
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Praca do Imperio
Squares in Lisbon
Belém (Lisbon)
National squares
World's fair sites in Portugal