The Maritime Museum’s origins date all the way back to 1863, when King Louis, the only Portuguese ruler to command naval ships, issued a decree to create a collection of documents and artifacts dedicated to the recording of Portuguese maritime history.
The displays have been collected from a variety of sources, including the Portuguese navy, but one single important contributor to the collection was Henry Maufroy de Seixas, who donate his own valuable private collection. In 1962, 100 years after the maritime museum decree was issued, the Museum officially opened its doors. Since then, it has gained renown as one of the best Portuguese museums.
The museum provides visitors an incredible insight into the Portuguese Age of Discovery, and the impact that Vasco da Gama’s 1498 visit to India had on Portuguese history and culture. Here you can also find sculptures of the first intrepid Portuguese discoverers.
The collection also includes an interesting collection from the Orient, which brings together porcelain objects, Chinese furniture, samurai armour and swords. In addition there are artefacts that reveal the intimate relationship the Portuguese royal family held with the sea. You’ll find a model of a royal yacht Maris Stella, which was built in 1901 and presented to Queen Amelia by King Carlos in 1905.
In addition to this, you can also see a wooden figure representing Archangel Raphael that accompanied Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India, ancient maps depicting the world as it was previously cartographed, and even the plane that made the first crossing of the South Atlantic in 1922, piloted by Portuguese aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral.
