Panjim Promenade – Azad Maidan

pp. 56-58
On February 17, 1843, were laid the foundations of the monument to Afonso de Albuquerque in the square referred to at different times as Largo dos Quarteis, Largo das Sete Janelas (Square of the Seven Windows) and also as Largo Afonso de Albuquerque (present time Azad Maidan). The monument was modelled after the Temple of Glory of Ancient Rome. The granite pillars and the iron beams had come from the Convent of S. Domingos at Velha Goa. As one can see in loco, the dome of the monument is supported by eight pillars and twelve columns. Some of these came from the College of St. Thomas Aquinas, formerly located on the hillock of Conceição, close to the Pangim Church. Albuquerque’s statue was transferred to Pangim after it was moved from the frontispiece of the Recolhimento da Serra at Velha Goa…

…When the statue was transferred from Velha Goa, it had come in a mutilated condition. Then, at the intervention of Governor José Ferreira Pestana, the Goan artist Rogunata Zó, a native of Ribandar, successfully did the restoration work. Zó was an artist who worked on wood, bone and ivory without any formal training. On this occasion, the artist proved himself to be a great master of the metalwork arts as well.