Portugal is a small country with a great past. Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India turned the independent kingdom of Portugal into the leading sea and colonial power in the Western world. Lisbon, presumably founded by the Phoenicians, was one of Europe's richest cities in the heyday of the Age of Discovery. Today, Portugal's monasteries and churches, its palaces, libraries, opera houses, and museums which have survived evoke past glory with immense murals composed of colored tiles and ornate sculptural decor.