The National Library of Portugal marked World Portuguese Language Day on 5 May with a landmark cultural event that brought together institutional representatives, scholars and guests for the opening of two major exhibitions dedicated to Portugal’s most celebrated poet, Luís de Camões. Attended by Her Excellency the Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, the initiative signalled a new phase in the enhancement, renewal and promotion of the institution’s cultural heritage.

During the event, a video was screened documenting the transformation of the National Library of Portugal’s exhibition spaces, recently redesigned by architect Francisco Aires Mateus. His intervention reinforces the relationship between heritage, contemporaneity and the visitor experience. The programme also included the presentation of the new graphic identity for the National Library of Portugal’s publications, designed by Pedro Falcão, reflecting the institution’s renewed editorial and visual identity.

The session also featured institutional addresses by José Augusto Cardoso Bernardes, Commissioner-General of the Mission Structure for the Commemorations of the 500th Anniversary of the Birth of Luís de Camões, and by Her Excellency the Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, Margarida Balseiro Lopes.

The highlight of the celebrations was the inauguration of the exhibitions No Rasto de Luís de Camões (In the Footsteps of Luís de Camões), curated by Vanda Anastácio, and Onde Terá Segura a Curta Vida? Camões e a Vida como Viagem (Where Might Short Life Find Shelter? Camões and Life as a Journey), curated by Anísio Franco, Filipa Oliveira and Paulo Pires do Vale. Both exhibitions form part of the official programme commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the Birth of Luís de Camões.

The exhibition No Rasto de Luís de Camões explores the enduring presence of Camões and his work within the collective memory of Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking world. Across the centuries, Camões has been reinterpreted through different historical periods, sensibilities and ideological perspectives, becoming simultaneously a historical, literary and symbolic figure. The exhibition highlights the ways in which the poet and his work have been appropriated and revisited in diverse cultural and political contexts, underlining Camões’s continuing capacity to inspire plural and contemporary readings. Organised into four thematic sections, the exhibition examines the biographical uncertainties surrounding Camões, the bibliographical complexity of his work, the scientific and technological context of the Renaissance, and the profound influence of his poetry on musical creation.

Meanwhile, the exhibition Onde Terá Segura a Curta Vida? Camões e a Vida como Viagem draws on the life and work of Luís de Camões to reflect on the human condition, travel, displacement and the fragility of existence. Inspired by the universe of Os Lusíadas, the exhibition establishes a dialogue between past and present, evoking themes such as encounters between cultures, shipwreck, perseverance and hope.

First presented at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in April 2025, the exhibition is now being shown at the National Library of Portugal at the wish of its late Director-General, Diogo Ramada Curto (1959–2026), to whom the exhibition is dedicated in recognition of his vision and commitment to the institution’s cultural mission.

At the conclusion of the event, the curators led guided tours of the exhibitions.

The exhibitions will be open to the public from 5 May to 15 September 2026.

Venue: National Library of Portugal — Campo Grande, 83, 1749-081 Lisbon
Contact: Carla Araújo — caraujo@bnportugal.gov.pt | Tel. +351 271 982 156