From Expo to shopping centre, from ideology to social imaginary: representations of the ‘discoveries’ in 1990s Lisbon

This article examines the links between exhibitions, urban development and social imaginaries by exploring representations of the so-called ‘discoveries' in Lisbon's public sphere throughout the 20th century. It traces connections between the 1940 Exhibition of the Portuguese World, organized by the Estado Novo dictatorship, and the 1998 Expo, ‘The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future', a key element in the urban regeneration of Lisbon’s eastern area. The analysis then broadens to explore how the symbolism of ‘discoveries' was revived and reproduced in two iconic shopping centres, Vasco da Gama and Colombo, built in the late 1990s.This comparative, historical reading has two goals. First, to understand continuities and shifts in the public use of Portugal's maritime past – from the rationalization of imperial endeavours in 1940, to post-colonial rebranding through Expo '98, within the context of Portugal's evolving role in the European Union. Second, to trace the gradual transformation of the Portuguese expansion narrative from an ideological construct to a generalized social imaginary. In doing so, it shows how representations of ‘discoveries’ became an increasingly normalized and uncritical part of Lisbon's urban landscape, calling for a more nuanced approach to its multiple social and political layers and modes of articulation.