http://camoessquare.com/about/
http://camoessquare.com/around-camoes-square/
Also:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu%C3%ADs_de_Cam%C3%B5es
From the webite:
Camoes square is located at the north-west corner of College and
Crawford Sts. in the heart of Toronto.
It was created to provide a small oasis where people of all backgrounds
can learn about the history of the Portuguese community in Toronto and
to provide a home to the statue of Luis Vaz Camoes, The Portuguese
Canadian Walk of Fame and the Portuguese Pioneers Fountain
The square was inaugurated June 2nd, 2013 to celebrate 60 years of
Portuguese immigration.
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Luis de Camoes (1524-1580) Portuguese poet, the greatest figure in
Portuguese literature. Born of a poor family, Camoes gained wide
familiarity with classic literature at the University of Coimbra. It is
thought that he fell in love with a lady of the Lisbon court, Dona
Caterina de Ataide, who became the inspiration for his fiery love poems.
Banished from court in 1546 because of his romance, he served as a
soldier in a Moroccan campaign, where he lost an eye. After his return
from Africa, he was imprisoned in 1552 for wounding a minor court aide
in a street fight. He was released the next year after consenting to
serve in India. Apparently he had already begun his most celebrated
work, The Lusiads (Os Lusiada - 1572) but this journey may have caused
him to make Vasco da Gama's voyage over the same route the central theme
of his epic.
After fighting in India, Camoes was given an official post at Macao in
China. In 1558 charges were brought against him for maladministration at
Macao, and he was put abroad a ship for the Goa in India. The ship was
wrecked, but he managed to save the manuscript for The Lusiads, and he
returned to Portuguese in 1570 by way of Mozambique. The publication of
his epic won him a meager royal pension, and his work began to enjoy
world fame. By 1655 it had appeared in English in a version by Sir
Richard Fanshawe.
Although modeled on Vergil and showing the influence of Ariosto, it is
imitative of neither and is a great epic in its own right. The beauty of
its poetry is enlivened by a vigorous and realistic narrative that
embraces not only the voyage of Vasco da Gama but also much of
Portuguese history. Apart from The Lusiads, however, Camoes' flawlessly
crafted sonnets and lyrics would have won him lasting fame.
Camoes died in Lisbon in 1580, when he was 56 years old and was buried
in the Jeronimos Monastery in the Belem district of Lisbon. June 10th,
the day of his death, is Portugal's national holiday. Camoes is forever
commemorated in Lisbon at the Luis Du Camoes Square where his statue
stands to this day.
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In Goa (India) the Archeological Museum at Old Goa (which used to be a
Franciscan monastery) houses a 3 meters high bronze statue of Luís de
Camões. The statue was originally installed in the garden in year 1960
but was moved into the museum due to public protest after Goa's
annexation to India.
Another Camões monument in Goa, India – "Jardim de Garcia da Orta
Garden" (popularly known as Panaji Municipal Garden) has a 12 meter high
pillar in the center.
--
Albert Peres
afpe...@3129.ca
416.660.0847 cell
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