Afonso de Albuquerque Square Garden

The lovely Praça Afonso de Albuquerque Garden is situated in one of the noble areas of the cosmopolitan Lisboa, right in front of the wonderful Belém National Palace, the official residence of the President of the Portuguese Republic.

The Garden was built in homage to the Portuguese vice-King of Índia, Afonso de Albuquerque (1453 - 1515), who attempted to close all the Indian ocean naval passages to the Atlantic, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and to the Pacific, transforming it in a Portuguese Mare Nostrum established over the Turkish power and their Muslim and Hindu allies.

The space has an area of about 1,6 hectares, with big open spaces and gardened areas, four small artificial lakes and several statues, with a main monument in the centre of the square with the bronze statue of Afonso de Albuquerque.