Stand­ing at the entrance to Lis­bon har­bour, the Monastery of the Hieronymites &ndash, con­struc­tion of which began in 1502 &ndash exem­pli­fies Por­tuguese art at its best. The near­by Tow­er of Bel&eacutem, built to com­mem­o­rate Vas­co da Gama‘s expe­di­tion, is a reminder of the great mar­itime dis­cov­er­ies that laid the foun­da­tions of the mod­ern world.