MILITAR MUSEUM
Military museum with a beautiful collection of pistols and rows of real cannons in a large vaulted room.
Even if your convictions are against it, this museum has a certain interest, because it's not just about weapons, but also about the 18th-century arsenal. Passing through the doorway (where sabres form a circle), you enter a room containing 16th-century cannons. This space is dedicated to Vasco de Gama, and is painted with allegories such as Neptune with bare buttocks taming the sea, with the illustrious navigator at his side... On the second floor, for the pleasure of the eyes, armor, marble and faux marble, painted ceilings and gilded sculptures by Francisco Antonio (18th century), mythological-warrior allegories... And then, a fine collection of pistols: from seventeenth-century models to more recent ones celebrated in novels and film noirs (Parabellum, Smith & Wesson, Browning...). Two rooms are devoted to the evolution of firearms and bladed weapons in Portugal from the 17th to the 19th century. At this point, you may think the visit is coming to an end, but it's not! A secret door is opened by the museum's janitor, to reveal a room packed with admirable models: cannons, reconstituted manufacturing workshops, etc. This is followed by a didactic room, where you can learn about the evolution of firearms in Portugal from the 17th to the 19th century. This is followed by a didactic room where photos are used to explain the Portuguese intervention in Angola (without comment!). Finally, a large vaulted room houses rows of cannons - real cannons this time, covering everything up to the German weapons used during the Second World War (in which Portugal did not participate).
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