2. How did public memory—monuments, museums, and religious spaces—either include or omit women’s voices?
It was very interesting to come from Italy to Portugal for this specific reason (among others, obviously). Italy, while not rich in women’s voices and women’s stories, had a decent amount of stories about women, specifically Catholic Saints. While Portugal is also predominantly Catholic, it does not have as many explicitly Catholic areas. There were still a handful of stories about prominent Portuguese women, but most of them were either also Catholic Saints or were prominent in Portuguese politics, and even with the existence of these stories, they were not obvious in public memory. The only reason we heard these stories was because our tour guide happened to share them or because we specifically asked about the role of women in whatever area we were visiting/studying. The most obvious example that comes to mind is this: there are many monuments honoring prominent Portuguese navigators, sailors, and colonists, or other prominent figures, but of the multiple monuments, only one has a woman represented. The Monument to the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos) has one woman represented; Queen Philippa of Lancaster, the mother of Prince Henry the Navigator, who is represented at the head of the monument. In the Gulbenkian museum, the only obviously female artwork represented was the modern art exhibit, Paula Rego and Adriana Varejão: Between Your Teeth. While this exhibit was fascinating and important, I did not notice any art that was obviously created by an older Portuguese woman anywhere in the museum. I’m sure there are more women’s voices to be heard and stories to be told, but as of yet they have not been showcased very well in monuments or museums.