This essay examines the evolution of the Encontros de Fotografia de Coimbra within the context of Portugal’s cultural transformation following the Revolução dos Cravos (1974). After decades of isolation under the Estado Novo dictatorship—which had relegated photography to purely functional roles or the conservative aesthetic canons of pictorialism—the country faced a profound “representational void.” Established in 1980 within the Academic Association of Coimbra by Manuel Miranda, Fernando Zeferino, and António Miranda, the Encontros became, between 1993 and 1996, the epicenter of a new national “iconographic foundation.” Under the direction of Albano da Silva Pereira and the curatorship of Tereza Siza, and influenced by Pedro Miguel Frade’s philosophical thought on the concept of espanto (astonishment), the festival evolved from a mere exhibition platform into an epistemological laboratory. By analyzing the manifesto-edition Jardins do Paraíso (1993) and the subsequent regional missions (1994–1996)—Itinerários de Fronteira, Terras do Norte, and Sul—this research explores the construction of a visual cartography of contemporary Portugal. A central axis of this study is the critical comparison with the landmark Italian project Viaggio in Italia (1984), conceived by Luigi Ghirri. While the Italian initiative operated through “subtraction” to deconstruct an already saturated and monumental imaginary, the Portuguese project functioned through “construction,” establishing an unprecedented visual repertoire for a nation lacking a systematic modern inquiry into its territory. Drawing on archival research and original interviews conducted by the author with Pereira and Siza, the essay outlines the legitimation of photography as an essential tool for critical reflection on identity and collective memory.