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At the heart of Lisbon’s Cais do Sodré, something extraordinary is happening. The Praça do Duque da Terceira, home to a grand 19th-century monument commemorating a liberal victory, has been transformed into a powerful street art installation.
Trash artist Bordalo II has wrapped the statue in a giant Monopoly-inspired game board, calling attention to the socioeconomic crisis gripping Portugal’s housing. His latest ‘provocative intervention’ titled ‘Monoplizada’ Monopolised 🏦, is nothing short of a visual revolution.
Monoplizada /Monopolised 🏦. Image copyright Bordlao II
The statue, erected in 1877 to mark the 44th anniversary of the Duque da Terceira’s landing with constitutionalist troops, stands as a symbol of historical struggle for freedom. Now, it has become the centrepiece of another kind of battle—the fight for affordable housing and social equity.
Crafted by José Simões de Almeida (uncle) and António Gaspar, the bronze figure once represented victory and progress. Today, surrounded painted squares, hotel icons, and satirical messages, it has been reframed by Bordalo II as part of a modern war – the right to housing.
Monoplizada /Monopolised 🏦. Image copyright Bordlao II
A Real-Life Monopoly Game
In Monoplizada /Monopolised 🏦, Bordalo II reimagines the iconic Monopoly board—but this isn’t child’s play. He’s painted massive, vivid Monopoly-style squares and placed them directly onto the square. With passersby physically stepping into the board game, they’re made part of a harsh commentary on economic inequality and housing injustice.
Monoplizada /Monopolised 🏦. Image copyright Bordlao II
A Game Rigged from the Start
The metaphor runs deep: in this game, some trade houses for hotels, others mortgage their properties to the bank—and some are the bank. But, as Bordalo II points out, not everyone begins with the same resources, and very few collect anything when passing ‘Go.’
“Monopolised 🏦
Our cities are being turned into giant game boards. The right to housing, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, now depends on luck or chance.Some players exchange houses for hotels, some mortgage their properties to the bank, and others are the bank — but in this game, not everyone starts with the same amount, and few get anything when passing the starting point.”
Bordalo II
This statement from Bordalo II is a sharp critique of the housing crisis in Portugal, and it uses the Monopoly game metaphor to expose how deeply unfair and profit-driven the current system has become. Urban development is no longer about communities or livability—it’s become a game for profit. Cities like Lisbon and Porto are increasingly treated as investment zones for tourism, real estate speculation, and short-term rental platforms, rather than places for people to live and build stable lives.
Portugal’s Constitution enshrines housing as a basic right, but in reality, access to affordable housing has become a matter of economic privilege and random fortune. Many people—especially young adults, working-class families, and locals—are priced out of the very cities they live in.
Monoplizada /Monopolised 🏦. Image copyright Bordlao II
Art as Urban Intervention
By taking over the public monument Duke of Terceira, de juro e herdade (meaning “forever granted”) and turning a communal space into a commentary-laden board game, Bordalo II breaks the fourth wall of public art. Lisbon residents are forced to confront a reality they are already living! It’s participatory. It’s confrontational. It’s exactly what public art should be in a time of crisis.
Monoplizada /Monopolised 🏦. Image copyright Bordlao II
Why This Matters Now
Portugal is facing record-breaking housing prices, and an ever-widening wealth gap with no new public housing. With ‘Monoplizada’ Monopolised 🏦, Bordalo II is not just creating a visual spectacle, he’s amplifying a national outcry, turning city streets into a canvas of resistance.
Monoplizada /Monopolised 🏦. Image copyright Bordlao II
Bordalo II has never shied away from difficult truths, and ‘Monoplizada’ Monopolised🏦 is provocative and necessary. In a world where too many are left playing a game they can’t win, Bordalo’s II art asks the question: What happens when we stop playing and start breaking the rules?
Monoplizada /Monopolised 🏦. Image copyright Bordlao II
📍 Location:
Praça do Duque da Terceira
Cais do Sodré, Lisbon, Portugal
Coordinates: 38° 42′ 23.50″ N | 9° 8′ 36.71″ W
This central square, located just steps from the Tagus River and Lisbon’s bustling nightlife hub, is now home to Monoplizada / Monopolised, the latest large-scale public artwork by the legendary Bordalo II.