The Solomon Room

In 1551, a young elephant named Solomon left Lisbon on foot — a gift from King João III to the Archduke Maximilian — and walked 4,000km across Renaissance Europe to Vienna. Crowds gathered in every city. Bridges were widened. Mountains were crossed. José Saramago immortalised the journey in his novel as a meditation on travel, wonder, and the lives of the forgotten who made it all possible. This room is named in his honour — for those who know the journey is always the point.