Private Full Day Historical & Arts Tour in Maputo

Praca da Independencia

Independence Square) is a public square and focal point of Maputo, Mozambique. It was built by the Portuguese as Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque (Mouzinho de Albuquerque Square) and was dominated by a statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque,the former governor-general of Portuguese. The statue of Mouzinho on horseback was inaugurated in 1940. After the independence of Mozambique in 1975 the square was renamed Praça da Independência, and the statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque was removed to the Fortress and replaced by a statue of Samora Machael (1933-1986), the first president of Mozambique.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

It is officially called Nossa Senhora da Conceição, the cathedral (as it is mostly known) or demon’s cathedral was built in the 1930’s – 1940’s by Marcial Simões Freitas e Costa, who was a deputy director of the railways at the time and worked free of charge. The construction was a major feat for the catholic church of the time, which was still reeling under the effects of the revolution of the 1910 in Portugal and had a very weak presence in Mozambique. This was one of the places in the city where hundreds of people had the opportunity to see Pope Francisco during his visit to Mozambique (3rd to 6th September, 2019). The second but not least important visit we have had of a Pope.

It was designed and built in the 1940’s by architects Carlos César dos Santos, Franz Keindl and Arnaldo Pacheco Pereira Leite. In front of it, in the Lisbon–style pavement used to be inscribed the words, “Aqui é Portugal” (this is Portugal), the words of president Américo Tomás when he visited Mozambique in 1964.