Graffiti has been scrawled on the plinth on which the bronze bust of Luís de Camões stands in Camões Garden, according to a statement by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) Tuesday.
According to the statement, the bureau discovered the plinth had been vandalised in a recent inspection of historical relics.
The graffiti in blue and red was found on the back of the plinth.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau condemned the graffiti in a statement , underlining that it is illegal to deface a historical monument as it violates Article 35 of the Cultural Heritage Protection Law.
The bureau said that it had already reported the vandalism to the police while it would remove the graffiti as soon as possible.
Luís Vaz de Camões (1524 or 1525-1580) is widely regarded as the Portuguese language’s greatest poet. His exact date of birth and birthplace are unknown. His day of his death, June 10, is Portugal’s national day.
