National Pantheon, Lisbon, Portugal

The National Pantheon is intended to honor and perpetuate the memory of Portuguese citizens who have distinguished themselves for services rendered to the country, in the exercise of high public positions, high military services, in the expansion of Portuguese culture, in literary, scientific and artistic creation or in the defense of the values of civilization, in favor of the dignification of the human person and the cause of freedom. The honors of the Pantheon may consist in the deposition, in the National Pantheon, of the remains of distinguished citizens or in the posting, in the National Pantheon, of a headstone alluding to his life and work.

The current building of the Church of Santa Engrácia substituted previous churches dedicated to a martyr of the city of Braga, Saint Engrácia. The first church dedicated to the Saint was sponsored by Infanta Maria of Portugal, Duchess of Viseu, daughter of King Manuel I, around 1568. In 1681, construction of the current church began after previous structures collapsed. The design was the work of João Antunes, royal architect and one of the most important baroque architects of Portugal.

Construction proceeded from 1682 through 1712, when the architect died. King John V lost interest in the project, concentrating his resources in the gigantic Convent of Mafra. The church was not completed until the 20th century, so that Obras de Santa Engrácia (literally Saint Engrácia’s works) has become a Portuguese synonym for an endless construction project. A dome was added, and the church was reinaugurated in 1966.

The National Pantheon honors some of the most important personalities of Portuguese history and culture of all times, Presidents Manuel de Arriaga, Teófilo Braga, Sidónio Pais and Óscar Carmona, writers Almeida Garrett, Aquilino Ribeiro, Guerra Junqueiro and João de Deus, the artist Amália Rodrigues and the Marshal Humberto Delgado.

History
Four hundred years of construction were worth the popular adage “Obras de Santa Engrácia” to the monument that is today National Pantheon.

There were many vicissitudes suffered by the church of Santa Engrácia, in a lengthy construction process that began in the last quarter of the 16th century. Of the primitive church, only the story of the desecration of the tabernacle and the accusation of Simão Solis remains, whose unjust death sentence will have motivated the curse on the works of Santa Engrácia, condemned to remain forever dragged through time.

Despite the efforts of the powerful Brotherhood of Slaves of the Blessed Sacrament, created to repair the affront suffered and erect a majestic temple, the bold Baroque project, designed by João Antunes, whose construction began in 1682, remained without coverage until the beginning of 1960s, when the Estado Novo regime decided to finish the building and continue with the 1916 law, which determined the adaptation of the temple to the National Pantheon.

The political decision sought to use the image of the monument that, stubbornly, remained unfinished, over several generations, to prove the regime’s ability to effectively solve challenges.

Thus, in just over two years, a double concrete dome was designed, covered with lyz stone, the interior was restored, rich in different types of stone, and the remains of the personalities to be transferred were transferred. On December 7, 1966, on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Estado Novo, Santa Engrácia – National Pantheon was inaugurated, in the same year that the Bridge over the Tagus joined Lisbon and Almada.

From the primitive parish to the bold unfinished baroque church
Infanta D. Maria (1521-1577), the last daughter of King Manuel I, sensitive to the arts and endowed with an unusual culture, sponsored the construction of the first parish church dedicated to the holy martyr of Portuguese origin, who died in Zaragoza in the century IV.

This temple was built according to the design of the architect Nicolau de Frias, little is known about the evolution of the works in the first two decades of the 17th century. In 1621, it was already Teodósio de Frias who continued his father’s work, looking for its conclusion. A few years later, in 1630, there was an episode of desecration of the temple, with the theft of consecrated hosts, kept in the tabernacle of the chancel. Simão Solis, a young Christian who was seen hanging around the temple, was accused of the crime. Condemned to death at the stake, he will always have sworn to his innocence, as certain as the works of the church of Santa Engrácia never came to an end. The Brotherhood of Slaves of the Blessed Sacrament was created immediately, with the membership of 100 noble nobles, engaged in repairing the affront committed. The powerful brotherhood ordered the construction of a new chancel by architect Mateus do Couto (nephew). Begun in 1632, it would suddenly collapse, some fifty years later. The disaster led the influential confraternity to decide to build a new temple and, in 1681, the project of the master João Antunes (1643-1712) was chosen. Strange to the national architecture, the program was based on a centralized plan, in Greek cross, where the four arms of equal dimension were joined externally by undulating walls, marked in the angles by turrets, whose scale, rhythm and proportion gave it Italian affiliation. At the time of the architect’s death in 1712, the church was not yet finished, lacking the cover, interior finishes and other minor elements.

The delay in the development of the conclusion works gave rise, among the people of Lisbon, to the popular adage of Obras de Santa Engrácia, applied to everything that presented delay in the execution.

Military Occupation and National Worship Space
With the extinction of religious orders in 1834, the temple of Santa Engrácia was handed over to the Army, which, after covering the central space with a zinc dome, adapted it to the barracks of the 2nd battalion of the National Guard of Lisbon, then armament factory and also the shoe production workshop.

Despite the military occupation, the idea of providing the rehabilitation and completion of the church continued to represent a challenge for the most distinguished architects, unhappy with the incomplete state of the most beautiful of our 17th century monuments, as characterized by Ramalho Ortigão. The suggestion to make it a national pantheon, making it one of the most imposing buildings in Europe, had been presented by the writer in his work entitled “ The Cult of Art in Portugal”, published in 1896.

By decree of 16 June 1910, the church was classified as a National Monument, and the decision to adapt it to the National Pantheon was already taken in the Republic, in April 1916. However, until the 1930s, however, its military occupation continued.

Restoration or finishing: looking for a solution
In 1956, several architects were invited to submit proposals for the completion of the building. Seven of them delivered their studies, some kept on file, such as those by António Lino, Joaquim Areal e Silva, Raul Lino and Luís Amoroso Lopes.

Amoroso Lopes considered the challenge proposed according to two different views. The first, from the perspective of completing an unfinished building. The second, when considering the monument as the target of a restoration, where the action should be minimal, just enough to allow its use. It was the latter attitude that reaped the greatest consensus.

The end of the myth and adaptation to the National Pantheon
In 1964, António de Oliveira Salazar visited the monument, deciding to take advantage of an image caught in the popular superstition of an endless work, ordering its completion in two years. The inauguration would coincide with the regime’s Fortieth Anniversary celebrations in 1966. At a particularly difficult time, it was important to show the Portuguese and the world how the Estado Novo had the strength to destroy myths of incapacity.

The construction of the roof began, then, with a double cupular concrete structure, covered with stonework, which was praised by Edgar Cardoso.

Decorative program and the surroundings
The building’s new sculptural program was executed by sculptors António Duarte (1912-1998) and Leopoldo de Almeida (1898-1975). The first was the execution of the statues on the main facade. Leopoldo de Almeida made the images for the interior of the temple.

Still inside the temple, the chancel came to be organized with the placement of the 18th century Baroque organ, which allowed the reuse of a Baroque piece of historical and artistic value that was thus rescued from abandonment.

At the same time that the dome rose and the interior of the temple was being restored, in the area surrounding the monument a paved area and a staircase leading to the frontage was created, which suited the monumentality of the building and conferred the element of surprise to the visitor..

Despite the short period of time, Santa Engrácia was completed at the end of 1966 and, with the inauguration ceremony on December 7, assumed the function of National Pantheon.

An Artistic Value and a National Symbol
The church of Santa Engrácia, despite the vicissitudes experienced, reveals a remarkable Baroque plan of Italian import, unique in Portugal.

The main façade of the church exemplarily combines the novelty of Italian Baroque with the most notable and significant architectural practice in Portugal. In the galilee, we come across the three portals, animated by a decorative work of great relief, attributable to the French sculptor Claude Laprade (1687-1740). In the national shield above the rich central portal, we find explicit the national character of the church that was present both in the foundation of the first parish and later in the reconstruction of the temple by the Brotherhood.

The imposing aspect and the unique character of the work justify its classification as a National Monument and legitimize its choice to accommodate the remains of the Portuguese of exception.

The dynamics of the monument’s forms are part of a privileged implantation on one of the city’s hills facing the river. The temple stands out in the panorama of Lisbon as a great bulwark. Its terrace offers visitors a unique view of the capital and the Tagus.

Architecture
João Antunes prepared an ingenious design for Santa Engrácia, never before attempted in Portugal. The church has a centralised floorplan, with a Greek cross shape. On each corner there is a square tower (the pinnacles were never completed), and the façades are undulated like in the baroque designs of Borromini. The main façade has an entrance hall (galilee) and three niches with statues. The entrance to the church is done through a beautiful baroque portal with the coat-of-arms of Portugal held by two angels. The Church has a high central dome which was completed only in the 20th century.

The harmonious interior of the church is dominated by the curved spaces of the central crossing and naves. The floor and walls are decorated with baroque, polychromed patterns of marble. The magnificent 18th-century baroque organ was brought from Lisbon Cathedral.

The National Pantheon – Santa Engrácia Church’s mission is to honor, promote and spread the life and work of distinguished Portuguese personalities. The National Pantheon is a Portuguese “National Monument” since 1910 and it’s a unique example of baroque style in Portugal. The National Pantheon stands in front of Tagus river, highlighting the historical area of the city, being an inescapable reference in Lisbon’s skyline.

Main entrance
At the entrance, we come across the three portals, animated by a great decorative work. The entrance to the church is done through a beautiful baroque portal with the coat of arms of Portugal held by two angels. This decorative program is attributable to the French sculptor Claude Laprade (1687-1740).

Of the sculptural work of entrance of the monument, it is still worth mentioning the bas-relief representing Santa Engrácia. Not only for its unusual proportions but, above all, for its innovative design and the originality of the undulating walls, the National Pantheon reveals a remarkable baroque plan, unique in Portugal.

It is a building with a Greek cross plan – defining a cross of four equal arms – with curved elevations marked at the angles by turrets.

Interior
The interior of the monument is animated by a magnificent work of stonework, enhanced by the coloring of ornamental stones (from Arrábida, Sintra and the Alentejo region of Estremoz, Borba and Vila Viçosa) and geometrical layout, creating the impression of a massive space.

In the interior angles of the church are represented Santo António, São João de Brito, São Teotónio and São João de Deus, by the sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida. The National Pantheon is surmounted by a majestic dome that rises to 80 ms of height.

Tumbling rooms
The tomb halls of the National Pantheon host the Presidents of the Republic Manuel de Arriaga, Teófilo Braga, Sidónio Pais and Óscar Carmona, writers Almeida Garrett, Aquilino Ribeiro, Guerra Junqueiro, João de Deus and Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, the artist Amália Rodrigues, the footballer Eusébio da Silva Ferreira and the Marshal Humberto Delgado.

High choir
Space organized in an amphitheater, originally reserved for religious choirs, gives us a perspective of the central nave and its semi-domes.

The organ
At the bottom of Central Nave stands the magnificent 18th century historical organ that occupies the high altar of the Church. 18 th Century Organ manufactured by Joaquim António Peres Fontanes.

Interpretation Center
Space which integrates elements recovered from the primitive church, pieces of jewelry used in the celebration of the opening Mass of the National Pantheon and a unique set of models in plaster of the campaign of conclusion of the construction of the monument (1964-1966).

Terrace
The National Pantheon stands on one of the hills of eastern Lisbon, facing the river. Thanks to this location, its terrace, 40 m high, is a unique viewpoint in the city, allowing to enjoy a privileged view of Lisbon and the Tagus.

Personalities and funeral program
The designation of national figures to be honored in the national pantheon was one of the tasks of the Consultative Commission for the works of Santa Engrácia, created in late 1965, under the presidency of the historian Damião Peres. For the Nave Central the choice fell on Camões, Vasco da Gama, D. Nuno Álvares Pereira, Afonso de Albuquerque, Pedro Álvares Cabral and Infante D. Henrique, having opted for a memorial solution only evocative, based on cenotaphs, without the physical presence of the remains of the noble figures. For the tomb rooms, formed in the corners of the temple, it was agreed to transfer the personalities buried in the old room of the Chapter of the Jerónimos Monastery, namely: the former presidents of the Republic, Teófilo Braga, Sidónio Pais and Óscar Carmona, and the writers Almeida Garrett, João de Deus and Guerra Junqueiro. Since its inauguration, the National Pantheon received the remains of General Humberto Delgado in 1990,

Church of Santa Engrácia: the Portuguese Altar of Fame
The National Pantheon welcomes and honors some of the most important personalities in Portuguese history and culture of all time, the Presidents of the Republic Manuel de Arriaga, Teófilo Braga, Sidónio Pais and Óscar Carmona, the writers Almeida Garrett, Aquilino Ribeiro, Guerra Junqueiro and João de Deus, artist Amália Rodrigues and Marshal Humberto Delgado.

Not everyone who has done Portugal in his body and soul will be here. But only with existing, morally, the Pantheon evokes those that are lacking as a standard of national values.
– D. Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira –

Honored personalities

Luís de Camões (1524/1525? -1580)
Considered one of the greatest poets of the Portuguese language and even the greatest of humanity, Luís Vaz de Camões was celebrated in literature for his epic work, Os Lusíadas, first published in 1572.

The poet is said to have been born around 1524/1525, in a place that remains uncertain, having attended, it seems, the Humanities course at the University of Coimbra.

In Goa, where he left, in 1553, as part of Fernão Álvares Cabral’s armada, he wrote a large part of Os Lusíadas – an epic where the History of Portugal and the adventures of the Portuguese people in the World were singularly narrated. Camões, the cursed poet, victim of fate, misunderstood, abandoned by love, but at the same time a determined man, a great humanist and a great thinker, has become since Romanticism a symbol of national values. The poet’s presumed remains are recovered from the church of Santa Ana in Lisbon and taken to the Monastery of Belém in 1880, on the occasion of the celebration of the three hundredth anniversary of his death.

Pedro Álvares Cabral (1467 / 1468-1520 / 1526)
Portuguese navigator, captain of the navy that, in 1500, left for India, on a troubled trip, ending up in lands called Vera Cruz. Brazil was thus officially discovered on April 22, 1500.

Born, it seems, in Beira Baixa (Belmonte?), He moved to Seixal at the age of eleven. In Lisbon he studied Literature, History and Science, as well as military arts. After Vasco da Gama’s return in 1498, he was appointed by D. Manuel I as commander of the second sea voyage to India, which would depart from Restelo beach on March 9, 1500. Pedro Álvares Cabral’s mission was to establish diplomatic and commercial relations with the Samurai of Calicut, consolidating Portugal’s economic role on the Indian Ocean routes.

On March 14, 1903, part of his remains were transported from the Graça de Santarém Church, where he is buried, to a deposit in the Old See of Rio de Janeiro.

Infante D. Henrique (1394-1460)
Fifth son of King D. João I and D. Filipa de Lencastre, whose direct descent Camões nicknamed “Ínclita Geração”, was born in Porto on February 4, 1394. He played a decisive role in the Portuguese Discoveries.

He was one of the most important figures in the beginning of the Portuguese Discoveries, and his action in North Africa, in the conquests made to Muslims, and in the Atlantic with the discovery of the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores and the recognition and establishment of commercial warehouses in the West African coast.

At the date of the infant’s death, in 1460, the African coast bathed by the Atlantic had been explored until what is today Sierra Leone.

D. Henrique died on September 13, in the village of Sagres, aged 66. Provisionally buried in the already missing church of Santa Maria da Graça de Lagos, his remains were transferred to the Batalha Monastery, where he remains in one of the parietal tombs of the Founder’s Chapel.

Vasco da Gama (1460/1469? -1524)
A great Portuguese navigator from the time of the Discoveries, he commanded the fleet that would reach the coveted India by sea (1497-1498), opening to the Portuguese one of its most prosperous times and an unprecedented maritime domain.

Vasco da Gama is commissioned by D. Manuel I to head the fleet headed for India, making him the first commander to undertake the sea voyage from Europe to Asia.

The reputation achieved by the Portuguese navigator in his eastern missions, managing to obtain important commercial concessions and found Portuguese factories in India (Cochin and Cananor), led D. João III to appoint him governor of Portuguese India, with the title of viceroy, in 1524. He would die that same year, in Cochin, victim of malaria.

His remains were transferred to Portugal, in 1538/1539, to the church of the Convent of Nossa Senhora das Relíquias, where he would remain until 1880, when his remains were received in the Jerónimos Monastery on the occasion of the celebration of the tricentennial of the death of Luís de Camões.

Afonso de Albuquerque (1453 (?) – 1515)
Sailor, soldier, statesman, administrator and diplomat, of noble origin, he was the 2nd governor of Portuguese India (1508-1515) whose political and military actions were decisive for the establishment of the Portuguese empire in the Indian Ocean.

By order of D. Manuel I, Afonso de Albuquerque left in 1503 on his first expedition to India, where he would return in 1506. In 1513, he became the first European commander to sail the Red Sea.

The military strategy combined with great diplomatic capabilities allowed it to ensure maritime control and commercial monopoly in India, creating the bases of the Portuguese Empire in the East.

He died at sea on December 16, 1515. He was buried in the church of Nossa Senhora da Serra, in Goa, from where he was transferred, in 1566, to the family pantheon in the church of the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Graça, in Lisbon. With the destruction of the cenobium by the 1755 earthquake, the tomb of the great viceroy was lost.

D. Nuno Álvares Pereira (1360-1431)
Of noble origin, D. Nuno Álvares Pereira as a military commander played a fundamental role in the crisis of 1383-1385, where Portugal fought for its independence from Castile.

In 1384, he was appointed by D. João de Avis Condestável de Portugal, following the victory he won against the Castilians, in the battle of Atoleiros, where he distinguished himself for his courage and military strategy.

His warrior genius was revealed again in Aljubarrota, on August 14, 1385. This battle would prove decisive for the consolidation of Portuguese independence.

He founded the Convent of Nossa Senhora do Vencimento on Monte do Carmo in 1389. Responding to an inner call, he joined there as Frei Nuno de Santa Maria, in 1423.

He was beatified in 1918 by Pope Benedict XV and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

Having lost his tomb with the destruction caused by the 1755 earthquake, some bones were recovered, taken as relics, now divided between the Chapel of the Third Order, in Largo do Carmo, and the Church of Santo Condestável, in Lisbon.

Buried personalities

Manuel de Arriaga (1840-1917)
Manuel José de Arriaga Brum da Silveira e Peyrelongue was the first President of the Portuguese Republic, constitutionally elected, when he was 71 years old.

Born in the city of Horta, in the Azores, Manuel de Arriaga graduated in Law at the University of Coimbra, where he became Dean. With an intense political career, linked to the Republican Party, for which he became a deputy for the Madeira circle four times, he was also a writer, poet and a great orator. In addition to other works, he published two volumes of verses, «Cantos Sagrados» (1899) and «Irradiações» (1901).

After the proclamation of the republican regime, he was called to perform the functions of Attorney of the Republic. Elected President of the Republic on August 24, 1911, he would hold office until 1915, in a very agitated period, marked by the succession of governments, a great instability between the parties and a strong international tension that would end in the First World War.

He would resign the presidential post following the challenge he was targeted by the Democratic Party, led by Afonso Costa, giving an account of the vicissitudes of his mandate in the book In the First Presidency of the Republic – A Quick Report, which he would publish in 1916.

Buried in a family grave at the Cemitério dos Prazeres on the date of his death on March 5, 1917, he was transferred to the National Pantheon on September 16, 2004.

Teófilo Braga (1843-1924)
Joaquim Teófilo Fernandes Braga, born in the city of Ponta Delgada on the Azorean island of S. Miguel, graduated in Law at the University of Coimbra, having distinguished himself as a politician, writer and essayist. In its political trajectory, the leadership of the Provisional Government formed with the establishment of the republican regime (from October 6, 1910 to September 3, 1911) and the exercise of the position of President of the Republic in 1915 stands out.

Teófilo Braga soon adhered to republican ideals, being one of the founders of the Portuguese Republican Party. He was President of the 1st Provisional Government of the Portuguese Republic in 1910 and later replaced Manuel de Arriaga, serving a term between May 29 and October 5, 1915, when he was replaced by Bernardino Machado.

The notoriety and recognition he had achieved in writing and the pioneering role he had in the development of the History of Portuguese Literature allowed him to win the place of professor of Modern Literature in the Higher Course of Letters (1872-1910).

Teófilo Braga, author of a vast and varied literary work composed of more than three hundred titles, wrote poetry, works of fiction and several essays dedicated to Universal History, Law, Theater, and Literature. It was also up to him to collect tales and traditional songs and their anthological publication (Cancioneiro Popular, 1867; Traditional Tales of the Portuguese People, 1883.

Deceased at the age of 81, he was buried in the Chapter room of the Jerónimos Monastery, where he stayed until the opening of the National Pantheon in 1966.

Sidónio Pais (1872-1918)
Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais was born in Caminha on the first day of May 1872. It was as a military and political that he stood out. After the establishment of the Republic, he held the position of deputy, Minister of Promotion, War, Finance, Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador of Portugal in Berlin, assuming the Presidency of the Republic after the 1917 coup.

Sidónio Pais, after starting a military career at the Army School, got his PhD in Mathematics at the University of Coimbra, where he was a full professor.

The opposition to Portugal’s participation in the Great War and the assertion as the main leader of the challenge to the Government, at the head of the Revolutionary Military Junta, led him to lead the coup d’état of December 5, 1917 that removed Bernardino Machado from the presidency. Sidónio Pais would assume the presidential functions on December 27, 1917, and simultaneously as leader of the Government, until another election. Proclaimed President of the Republic on May 9, 1918, by direct suffrage of the voters, he obtained an unprecedented vote, which was supported by monarchists and Catholics. The state of grace of the Sidonist regime would end with a strong social challenge. The President would not escape the spiral of installed violence, being shot dead on December 14, 1918, at Rossio Station, by José Júlio da Costa,

Sidónio Pais would enter the Portuguese imagination as a mix of savior and martyr. His tumultuous body, first at the Belém Monastery and, after 1966, at the National Pantheon, was always the object of devout pilgrimage.

Oscar Carmona (1869-1951)
António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona, a descendant of the military, born in Lisbon, graduated from the Military College and the Army School. Appointed by Decree following the resignation of Bernardino Machado, he assumed the functions of President of the Republic on November 16, 1926, becoming the eleventh President of the Portuguese Republic and, from 1933, the first of the Estado Novo.

Cavalry officer, Óscar Carmona, built a remarkable career, rising to marshal, in 1947. Throughout his professional and political career, he held several outstanding positions in the service of the Armed Forces and the State: he was Director of the Practical School of Cavalry in Torres Vedras (1918-1922), Minister of War (1923), President of the Ministry (1926-1928) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1926). Assumes the Presidency of the Republic in 1926.

Standing out for its political ability, easy relationship and technical competence, Carmona emerged as a consensus solution, with strong arbitration power, for three fundamental issues for the Salazar regime: relations between the military; relations between the military and politicians; and the relations between monarchists and republicans. In a regime that has been characterized as “Prime Minister’s presidentialism”, his political role in the face of a Salazar of indisputable power, has always been discreet. These reasons justify that he remained in the position of President of the Republic for a quarter of a century, until the date of his death, which occurred on April 18, 1951. Buried in the Jerónimos Monastery until the conclusion of the National Pantheon where he was transferred in 1966, at the time of its inauguration.

Almeida Garrett (1799-1854)
João Baptista da Silva Leitão de Almeida Garrett, born in Porto, educated on Terceira Island and later in Coimbra, where he enrolled in the Law course, stood out in Portuguese society as a writer and politician.

Liberal, enthusiast of the Revolution of 1820, Almeida Garrett was forced to go into exile after the 1822 coup, in which liberalism was defeated. During exile, first in England, where he got in touch with the romantic movement, and then in France, in the Havre region, Garrett asserted himself as one of the initiators of Romanticism in Portugal, setting a turning point in Portuguese literature, which he began to privilege national values and history.

A great promoter of theater in Portugal, he promoted the building of the National Theater and the creation of the Conservatory of Dramatic Art. In order to renew Portuguese dramaturgy, he wrote and brought to the stage plays of a historical character.

Within the scope of the patriotic cult, the idea of creating a National Pantheon, to be instituted in the Jerónimos Monastery, which, in the image of the French and English models, honored some of the most outstanding national heroes, was his initiative. His remains would be deposited there, in 1903, being transferred to Santa Engrácia in 1966, when the monument was inaugurated as the National Pantheon.

Aquilino Ribeiro (1885-1963)
Writer, born in Sernancelhe, studied in Lamego before entering the Seminary of Beja. He quickly abandoned the religious milieu, settling in Lisbon. He stood out as a novelist in the first half of the 20th century, achieving great success with the public and critics.

In the reference works of Aquilino Ribeiro, the collection of short stories «Estrada de Santiago» (1922) and the novels «Terras do Demo» (1919), «Andam Faunos aos Bosques» (1926), «Volfrâmio» (1944) stand out., “O Malhadinhas” (1946), “A Casa Grande de Romarigães” (1957), “When the Wolves Howl” (1958) or “O Livro da Marianinha” (1962).

His republican ideology was registered in the collaboration with some newspapers, such as «A Vanguarda», or even by the republican propaganda fiction work, «A Filha do Jardineiro» (1907), which he wrote in partnership with José Ferreira da Silva.

His journalistic activity and his connection to the Grande Oriente Lusitano forced him to go into exile at different times in his life, in France, Germany and Spain.

He was a professor at Liceu Camões, conservator of the National Library, founder and president of the Portuguese Society of Writers.

The uniqueness of his work, which highlights the use of rustic, archaic and slang terms, revealing unexplored verbal values in the Portuguese language, led him, in 1960, to be proposed for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

From the plot of writers at the Prazeres cemetery, where he was buried, he was transferred, in 2007, to the National Pantheon.

Junqueiro War (1850-1923)
Born in Freixo de Espada-à-Cinta, Abílio Manuel de Guerra Junqueiro, he graduated in Law at the University of Coimbra. After going through the Seminar, he chose to pursue a literary career, distinguishing himself as a poet and writer.

Guerra Junqueiro is the author of works such as «Two Pages of the Fourteen Years» (1864), «Vozes sem Echo» (1867), «Baptismo de Amor» (1868), «The Death of D. João» (1874), «Tales for Childhood ”(1875),“ The Old Age of the Eternal Father ”(1885),“ Os Simples ”(1892).

He was part of the academic movement in Coimbra, known as Geração de 70, alongside Antero de Quental, Eça de Queirós, Ramalho Ortigão, Oliveira Martins, striving for the renewal of Portuguese political and cultural life.

He developed an intense political activity, having been a deputy between 1878 and 1891. Following the English Ultimatum (1891), Guerra Junqueiro would publish the booklets «Finis Patriae» and «Pátria», joining the national contest generated around the Portuguese government and of Bragança’s house for the lack of firmness in opposition to the loss of Portuguese dominance in the African colonial territories located between Angola and Mozambique.

The facet of a pamphleteer poet would accentuate the strong connection to the revolutionary environment that would lead to the fall of the Monarchy and the establishment of the Republic in 1910. He died on July 7, 1923 and had funeral funerals for the Jerónimos Monastery, from where he was taken to the National Pantheon in 1966.

John of God (1830-1896)
João de Deus de Nogueira Ramos, born in São Bartolomeu de Messines in the Algarve, joined the Coimbra Seminary, but the lack of an ecclesiastical vocation led him to study law. Without a particular taste for law, he would become, by vocation, an illustrious lyric poet.

João de Deus is the author of the poems published in the collections «Flores do Campo» (1868), «Ramo de Flores» (1869), «Despedidas de Verão» (1880) and «Campo de Flores» (1893).

However, he would achieve extraordinary popularity as a pedagogue, due to his involvement in literacy campaigns, creating an innovative method of teaching reading to children, based on the Maternal Booklet, of his authorship (1876), approved, two years later, as the national method of learning to read and write Portuguese.

It was buried in the National Pantheon, in 1966, after, in the year of his death, his remains were deposited in the chapel of the baptistery of the Jerónimos Monastery.

Amalia Rodrigues (1920-1999)
Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues, born in the parish of Pena, in Lisbon, distinguished herself as a fado singer and actress.

In theater and cinema Amália Rodrigues was the main figure in the play «A Severa» (1954) and starred in some films, among them, «Capas Negras» (1946), «Amantes do Tejo» (1954), «As Ilhas Encantadas» (1964) ), “Via Macau” (1965), “Véronique” (1966). However, it is as “Rainha do Fado” that she becomes known worldwide, distinguishing herself as much for the quality of her vocal timbre and interpretations as for the contributions made to the history of that musical genre, introducing the novelty of singing poems by authors consecrated Portuguese, from Camões to Ary dos Santos.

Among his most successful fados are “Strange Form of Life”, “People Who Wash in Rio”, “Ai Mouraria”, “Black Boat”, “Portuguese House”, “Casa da Mariquinhas”, “It was God”.

Owner of a superb voice, with a brilliant international career, started in the 1940s, never matched by any other Portuguese artist, Amália was one of the great singers of the 20th century. The symbolism of Fado in Portuguese culture, combined with the artistic qualities of Amália Rodrigues’ work and the contributions she made to the spread of Portuguese culture and language throughout the world, from Paris to Tokyo, from the Soviet Union to the United States, made her one of the most recognized ambassadors of Portugal.

He died on October 6, 1999, at his home in S. Bento (Lisbon), and the singularity of his career ensured him, in 2001, a place in the National Pantheon.

Humberto Delgado (1906-1965)
Humberto da Silva Delgado, distinguished military and political, born in Torres Novas, completed the Artillery (1925), Pilot-Aviator (1928) and General Staff (1936) courses. After having supported, for many years, the official positions of the Estado Novo, its political path would be marked by the candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic in the presidential elections of 1958.

Humberto Delgado, appointed director of the Civil Aviation Secretariat, in 1944, founded the following year the Portuguese Air Transport (TAP). The only opposition candidate in the 1958 elections, however, he was defeated at the polls, in a fraudulent electoral process that gave victory to the regime’s candidate, Américo Tomás. His attitude of confronting the Salazar dictatorship earned him the name “General without Fear”.

Following the electoral defeat, he was dismissed from the armed forces and forced to go into exile in Brazil, a country where he led an opposition movement to the Portuguese government.

He was assassinated by the political police near Badajoz, in Villanueva del Fresno, on February 13, 1965, where he was lured into a trap, thinking he was coming to meet opponents of the Estado Novo regime.

His remains, after being identified, were buried in the cemetery of Villanueva del Fresno. The transfer to Portugal only took place on January 23, 1975, to the cemetery of Prazeres, in Lisbon.

Humberto Delgado, a symbol of the struggle against the Salazar dictatorship, was posthumously appointed Marshal of the Air Force in 1990, at which time his remains were transferred to the National Pantheon.

Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (1919-2004)
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, one of the greatest poets of the Portuguese twentieth century, was born in Porto on November 6, 1919. The Danish roots go back to her paternal great-grandfather, who settled in Porto. It was at Quinta do Campo Alegre, now the Porto Botanical Garden, and at Granja beach that he lived his childhood and youth and where he received decisive influences for his work.

Raised in the old Portuguese aristocracy and educated according to traditional values, she attended Classical Philology at the University of Lisbon. He became one of the most representative figures of a democratic political attitude, denouncing the Salazar regime and its followers. He published the first verses in 1940 in the magazine Cadernos de Poesia, with which he collaborated.

Between 1944 and 1997, he published 14 books of poetry, in which he privileged themes such as Nature – with emphasis on the sea, its beauty and its myths -, the search for justice, Greek civilization and the importance of poetry. He also devoted himself to prose, writing short stories, plays and stories for children.

In 1964 he received the Grand Prize of Poetry by the Portuguese Society of Writers for his Book Six. In 1999, she was the first Portuguese woman to receive the most important literary award in the Portuguese language: the Camões Prize. He also received the Max Jacob Prize in 2001 and the Queen Sofia Prize for Ibero-American Poetry in 2003, among others.

He died at the age of 84, on July 2, 2004, in Lisbon. She was transferred to the National Pantheon on July 2, 2014, ten years after her death.

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (1942-2014)
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira was considered one of the best football players of the 20th century, his extraordinary performance, speed, technique and strong shot made him known as the Black Panther.

Eusébio was born in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique, and from an early age started playing football with his friends on improvised fields. However, it was in Portugal, where he settled at the age of 17, that he developed his extraordinary career.

From 1961 to 1973, he was part of the Portuguese team. In 1966, wearing the number 13 jersey, he was the best scorer of the World Championship in England, being recognized as one of the best scorers ever in world football.

In 1965 he won the Golden Ball – Best European Player. He was the first player to win the Golden Boot in 1968, a feat he would repeat in 1973.

In 1973 he obtained his last internationalization; however, only 7 years later he would stop playing, when he became part of the technical team of the Portuguese team, until his death.

From the Lumiar cemetery, where he was buried on the date of his death on January 5, 2014, he was transferred to the National Pantheon on July 3, 2015.