This ample pavilion was specifically built to house the Maritime Museum’s royal galliot collection. Beyond these magnificent vessels, however, one can also learn about several other aspects representative of Portugal’s connection with the sea.
After entering, the imponent royal yacht “Sirius” stands to the right, while to the front, we can see 6 magnificent galliots, richly decorated row-powered vessels, five of which date back to the eighteenth century, as is the case with the Saveira Dourada. These galliots were used by the Portuguese Royal Family and foreign dignitaries on leisurely trips in the Tagus Estuary. The most imposing of these is the Royal Barge, built in 1780.
In the Pavilion, one can also find several examples of Portuguese traditional vessels, such as the Douro river Valboeiro, the Nazaré Netinha, the Aveiro Moliceiro, the Azores whaler, a testament to the centuries-long Azorean whaling industry, and even the small Dóri, used in cod fishing.
At the end of the Pavilion are three hydroplanes, used by the Portuguese Naval Aviation in the twentieth century: The 1917 “Shreck” FBA, one of the first two hydroplanes to arrive to Portugal, in the context of World War I; the Grumman Widgeon, one of the last hydroplanes used by the Portuguese Navy, active until 1952, when the Portuguese Air Force was created and the Naval Aviation was disbanded; and the famous “Santa Cruz”, the hydroplane that completed the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic in 1922 by the Portuguese Navy officers Admiral Gago Coutinho and Commander Sacadura Cabral.