The Entrance Hall of the Maritime Museum allows for an understanding of the connection between Portugal and the sea, specifically during the Portuguese Discoveries, and the country’s impact in the development of the modern world.
Here we find the statues of the first explorers, like Diogo Cão, João de Santarém, Diogo Gomes, Pedro de Sintra, Gonçalves Zarco, Gil Eanes and Nuno Tristão, responsible for the early exploration of the Atlantic and the Western Coast of Africa. In the centre of the room stands the statue of Prince D. Henrique, the mastermind behind the Portuguese Discoveries.
Behind this scene, visitors can find a planisphere, completed in the 1960s by collaborators of the Museum, where the main voyages of Portuguese navigators are shown. The planisphere is a bridge of sorts, connecting the imaginary of the Discoveries with the current world, displaying the routes of civilizational dialogue that are still present today, linguistically and culturally, throughout the world.