Nobody knows how the rumour of the existence of a treasure underneath the statue came about. For some it was a pot of gold coins, for others a text revealing mysteries. But it was taken for granted that it is or was beneath the statue of the poet Camões in the square bearing his name, in Lisbon.
It was always there. But if it was, it disappeared when they built the current car park, inaugurated by João Soares, when he was Mayor.
Today's square was occupied by the Palace of the Marquises of Marialva. During the 1755 earthquake, the palace collapsed and the marquises moved to the airy Belém area. They still thought about rebuilding, but then they became disinterested in that worthless piece of land at the time. Imagine that now.
Over time, the idea grew of turning the place into a square, with a statue of the greatest poet LuÃs de Camões. That's what happened on October 9th, 1867.
In 1999, João Soares built an underground car park in the basement of the Camões square. The foundations of the Marqueses de Marialva Palace were uncovered and many remains were visibly incorporated in the new structures.