7000 Wonders

Notwithstanding Salazar's dictatorship and a great war raging on the continent, the two of them created a miracle that has for 86 years taught children history, art and, maybe even more importantly, the skill of being Portuguese

The incongruity implies a troubled past full of dark secrets - such as a guilty love affair, an assassination, a macabre revenge...and a lasting memory.

It's easy to appreciate art objects that are meant to be decorative - skillfully crafted and aesthetically pleasing but, so-to-say, practically useless.