On July 8, 1832, on the beach near Arnosa do Pampelido, between the parishes of Perafita and Lavra in the municipality of Matosinhos, an event took place that would decisively alter the course of history and mark the beginning of the end of absolutism in Portugal . A squadron commanded by D. Pedro IV with an army of 7500 men was set up from the Azores and landed on this beach in order to put a modern and liberal regime in the country. The choice of this location took the absolutist army by surprise since, awaiting an attack on Lisbon, the defense of the North had been stripped. After landing, the “Liberation Army” went to Porto, where it entered peacefully on July 9 and where it heroically resisted for a year in the “Siege of Porto”. Marking the place of disembarkation, an obelisk was erected, at the initiative of António José de Ávila and public subscription, to perpetuate the memory of this event. Its location was based on the testimony of elements of the “Liberation Army” who, besides, were present, alongside Queen D. Maria II at the launch of its first stone on December 1, 1840. However, it would take 24 years to conclude the obelisk, having been proposed to be classified as a national monument in 1880.