Portugal and Spain

 

The Praça do Comércio (Commerce Plaza) is a large, harbor-facing plaza and is one of the largest in Portugal. Facing the Tagus (Tejo) to the South, the plaza is still commonly known in Portuguese as Terreiro do Paço (Palace Yard), as it hosted the Paço da Ribeira (Royal Palace of Ribeira) until the latter was destroyed by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
After the earthquake, the plaza was completely remodeled as part of the rebuilding of the Pombaline Downtown (Baixa), ordered by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, who was (chief) Minister of Portugal from 1750 to 1777, during the reign of the Portuguese King José I.
 

 

José Francisco António Inácio Norberto Agostinho (King Joseph I), known as the Reformer, was King of Portugal from 31 July 1750 until his death in 1777.
 

Triumph, leading a horse (representing Europe) over a human figure (representing America).
 

Fame, driving an elephant (representing Asia) over a human figure (representing Africa).
 

The Arco da Rua Augusta (Rua Augusta Arch) is a stone, triumphal arch-like, historical building. It was built to commemorate the city's reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake. It has six columns and is adorned with statues of various historical figures.
 

 

The group at the top represents Glory rewarding Valor and Genius.
 

The Douro River, Viriatus (leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into Portugal) and Vasco da Gama (Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea)