"Passarola" Child T-Shirt

Passarola child T-Shirt with original Artwork

What is Passarola?

Bartolomeu de Gusmão, a Jesuit priest with plans to build a flying machine, presents his project to King D. João V, who grants him authorization and financing.

🔸In August 1709, in the Ambassadors' Hall of the House of India, Bartolomeu de Gusmão, in front of the king, the queen, members of the diplomatic corps and the entire Portuguese court, makes a balloon heated with air rise to the ceiling.

🔸Later, he developed a larger version, which received the name Passarola. A huge balloon, possibly carrying its inventor, was launched from Praça de Armas in São Jorge Castle and flew for about 1 km to Terreiro do Paço.

🔸Some say it's a legend, others that it's true. At the Lisboa Story Centre, the story is told and the Passarola de Bartolomeu de Gusmão is evoked in our space.