Vintage Portugal: Part II - Portuguese World

The "Regional Houses" part of the "Portugal dos Pequenitos" Open Air Museum accounts for only about a quarter of the exhibition. While most buildings are a smaller version of either a generic or a specific structure, scaled-down replicas of famous national monuments, such as the Belem Tower and Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon, the Clerigos Tower in Porto, or Sintra Palaces, are still quite big to feel "real".

To fully appreciate the importance of various national symbols being displayed right next to each other, one must remember that some of the target audience of the Museum/Park are children as small as 3-years-young. For many of those children, a visit to Pequenitos would provide the very first exposure to their country's art and architecture - and sheer concentration of architectural masterpieces per square meter is likely to make a lasting impression on rapidly developing minds. The experience will also create a sense of familiarity and facilitate recognition when a child, armed with Pequenitos experience, travels to other cities and sees the original buildings. Familiarity and recognition are often followed by affinity and, eventually, a sense of pride - and that's how true, healthy patriotism is formed. In particular, when art and architecture join forces with literature, geography and, especially, history. And if ever there was a work of art combining all three of them in the most meaningful way possible, it's arguably the mural featured on the cover picture.

Even a learned, well-educated adult would find the mural informative, as well as aesthetically pleasing. For a 3+ year-young child, it would be a fairy-tale come alive. To start with, there is a map presenting the whole world at a glance and helping to understand that Portugal is but a small spot clinging to a much larger landmass. Next comes an inscription: "E se mais mundo houvera la chegara". Even without any context, that statement - "And if (even) more of the world existed, we would go there, (too)" - implies adventures and stirs enough imagination to wonder if the man at the bottom right of the mural, Prince Henry, has something to do with those adventures. At that point, a child wouldn't likely know that Prince Henry is the renowned Henry the Navigator directly responsible for turning a small country into a maritime Empire - or that the quote in question is taken from the most famous literary work in Portuguese history, Luis de Camoes' "The Lusiads". That knowledge will come later and, once again, the seed will fall on the plowed soil. In the meantime, the new and exciting picture of brave adventurers boldly going into the unknown should help to prepare the child for the last part of the exhibition - the Lusophone world.

At first glance, the numbers don't look that impressive. Population-wise, the 10,5 million people's Portugal is ranked 94th in the world - that's barely the top half of our planet. Portuguese is the official language in only 10 countries. However, a closer look turns the whole picture on its head: the 10 countries in question provide about 265 million Portuguese speakers and turn the language into the 5th most spoken one in the world, while being the top language of choice in the Southern Hemisphere. In other words, Portugal punches way-way-way above its weight, and that's centuries after ceasing to be a world power. Its relationships with former colonies are now built on common cultural heritage and mutual respect rather than coercion.

11 pavilions, beautiful and/or intriguing from outside

diverse and highly informative from inside

help to connect the dots by telling the story of each and every country or territory belonging to the Lusophone world. By building on its past and learning from it, at the same time, Portugal - just like its long-time ally, England - managed to create its own Commonwealth (formally known as CPLP - Comunidade dos Paises de Lingua Portuguesa/Community of Portuguese Language Countries). That achievement has shaped the country's new identity - and become a crucial part of it, thus completing and securing the image of Portugal in the modern world.