The town’s most famous son was born here sometime in the 1460s, though nobody can agree on the exact day or where in Sines he was delivered.

Vasco da Gama earned his place in history during his voyage to India between 1497 and 1499, becoming the first European to get to India by sea, expanding the Portuguese Empire, opening up world trade and ushering in the colonial era.

Appropriately, Vasco da Gama’s statue, with its square-like silhouette, faces the sea just next to the west tower of the castle.

It was placed here in 1970, the year of his 500th anniversary.