In this section we will describe all kinds of interesting medical-literary places in Europe. The section has started on June 21, 2025 and will appear every two weeks, alternately with Scoop.
June 21, 2025
Lisbon: Doctor José Tomás de Sousa Martins
Location: Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, Lisbon
How to get there: bus 730.
Cost: free
There are many famous doctors in our history. Some doctors have had diseases named after them. Think of Gilles de la Tourette, Cushing, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Dupuytren. Or doctors associated with a specific medical procedure, such as the Babinski reflex, or a particular symptom, such as Cullen or Trousseau. Oh yes, there are also doctors who have become famous as writers: Chekhov, Maugham, Lobo Antunes, Williams, to name but a few.
There is a (Dutch) wikisage page with famous doctors. It is a colorful and rather random collection of doctors, many of whom fall under the above examples. What is striking is that none of these doctors became famous for their great clinical abilities, including dealing with patients in a decent manner. What we do know is that some doctors were removed from the list precisely because of their lack of the latter. For example, Friedrich Wegener (Wegener’s disease) and Hans Reiter (Reiter’s disease) were removed from the list because of their Nazi sympathies. The diseases were renamed.
But there are famous doctors who are famous for the way they treated their patients. For that, we have to go to Campo dos Mártires da Pátria in Lisbon. There stands the statue of Dr. José Tomás de Sousa Martins.
He lived from 1843 to 1897. He has a Wikipedia page in English. There we read:
He was a doctor and professor at the Medical-Surgical School of Lisbon, the predecessor of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the NOVA University in Lisbon. He studied pharmacy and medicine and worked in Lisbon, mainly for the poor. He was particularly interested in the fight against tuberculosis. His career and his choice to work mainly for the poor people of Lisbon created an image of a saint, which is still noticeable today.
Tuberculosis, which was untreatable at the time, became his life’s work. He ensured that a sanatorium was built in north-eastern Portugal, the Sanatório Dr. Sousa Martins. Sadly, Sousa Martins himself contracted tuberculosis. It was so severe that he took his own life on August 18, 1897.
And now we are standing in front of his statue, which was erected in 1904.
The statue stands near the medical faculty where he was a professor.
He is, of course, depicted as a philanthropist, seen here on a card with a wish.
However, that is not what repeatedly catches the eye. Around the statue are stones, often made of marble, inscribed with wishes and expressions of gratitude. There are dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of wishes and expressions of gratitude from patients, one on top of the other.
They are ex-votos, a familiar phenomenon in many religions. But that is not the most remarkable thing about them. At the time of writing, this good doctor died 128 years ago… And there are also many expressions of gratitude that are less than a year old. Doctor Sousa Martins has become a saint. On the anniversary of his birth and death, his grave and this statue are visited by hundreds of people, ensuring a permanent supply of ex-votos for eternity. I wonder if anyone keeps them in any kind of order… Apparently not.
As far as I know, Dr. Sousa Martins has not yet made his way into fiction. Perhaps Axel Munthe’s The Doctor of San Michele is the novel that comes closest to the holy doctor. Or dr. Samuel Pozzi, the first gynecologist, described by Julian Barnes in The man in the red coat. And then there is the doctor from a story by Richard Selzer. His fellow villagers consider him a saint, but he is an impostor… Imposter is the name of the story. Doctor Sousa Martins was certainly no impostor, but a saint? That is a bit far-fetched.
Now that you are here, it is worth walking into R. Julio de Andrade, following the road and visiting the Jardim do Torel.
Lisbon has a number of places with beautiful views, called Miradores. The Jardim do Torel is a beautifully landscaped park with views over the lower town.
It’s also a nice place to rest for a while. Leave the park the same way you entered and continue along R. Julio de Andrade. Take the first left and then right and you will arrive at one of Lisbon’s three cable cars, the Elevador do Lavra, which will take you down to the lower town.
