Historical Society defends

Speaking to Lusa, José Ribeiro e Castro defended the existence of a video surveillance system in national monuments, which would be, "in itself, a deterrent" to acts of vandalism, such as the "graffiti" that defaced on Sunday, the Monument to the Discoveries in Lisbon. Ribeiro e Castro applauded the “readiness” of the Lisbon Council to remove the “graffiti” at the base of the monument”.

Designed by the architect Cottinelli Telmo (1897-1948), the Padrão dos Descobrimentos includes sculptures by Leopoldo de Almeida (1898-1975) and was inaugurated in 1960, on the occasion of the fifth centenary of the death of Infante D. Henrique. The monument reproduces in stone a provisional model that was part of the Exhibition of the Portuguese World, in 1940, on the occasion of the "double centenary" of the foundation of the kingdom of Portugal, in 1140, and the restoration of independence, in 1640.

According to the form available in the Information System for Architectural Heritage, the Monument to the Discoveries is not classified, being included in the Special Protection Area (ZEP) of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Belém and in the ZEP of the Museum of Popular Art. The official recalled that this is not the first time that a monument has been vandalised: last year, also in the capital, the statue of Father António Vieira, in Largo Trindade Coelho, was the target of acts of vandalism, “which the camera promptly caught”.

Ribeiro e Castro, former deputy of the CDS-PP, stated that "the State and the municipalities must, in fact, stop these incidents, but there is a cost" that is borne by citizens, but which must be imputed to those responsible for the act of vandalism, when identified, therefore a video surveillance system would help. The president of the Historical Society of the Independence of Portugal defended that the perpetrators of acts of vandalism “should be held criminally and civilly liable”. "The monuments are the heritage of the State, of all of us," he added.

The Padrão dos Descobrimentos, in Lisbon, was vandalized on Sunday with a graffiti on one of the sides of the monument, with an extension of about 20 meters and written in English, the Public Security Police told Lusa. According to the Penal Code, “whoever destroys, in whole or in part, damages, defaces or renders unusable” public monuments or elements belonging to “cultural and legal heritage” is punishable with up to five years imprisonment."