[The medallions of the Lisbon Faculty of Medicine].

Twelve medallions bearing effigies of outstanding figures in modern and contemporary Portuguese history of medicine were carved in marble by José Moreira Rato, to decorate the façade of the Escola Médico-Cirúrgica in Lisbon, inaugurated in April 1906. When this school was closed, the medallions were transferred to the new Medical School in the University City of Lisbon, which opened in 1954. Kept partially obscure, the medallions eventually lost part of their artistic and ornamental brilliancy and three of them became absolutely unidentifiable due to various adversities. In 1988-89, the Medical School decided to restore a medallion depicting Alfonso Rodrigues de Guevara and placed it in the hall of its Aula Magna. The process of re-identification and restoring these works of art had begun. In 1995, all the medallions were conclusively identified, which was a crucial step towards their full restoration and historical and artistic revalorization.