Casa Museu Bissaya-Barreto

About the museum

The house was the private residence of Fernando Bissaya Barreto (1886–1974), full professor (catedrático) of Medicine at the University of Coimbra, surgeon, humanist and philanthropist, a leading figure in social welfare and social medicine in Portugal. The building, designed by the architect Fiel Viterbo, was begun in 1923 and completed in 1925. It has two floors, an eclectic style with hints of Portuguese Joanine baroque, and an octagonal turret.

The house has been open to the public since 1986 and allows visitors to see the private rooms of the patron, the garden with its box hedges, sculptures, pond and panels of baroque azulejos, and the furnishings of furniture and art, which reveal a taste for beauty and order. Among the collections, the azulejos stand out, along with Portuguese naturalist painting by José Malhoa and Sousa Pinto, sculpture, Chinese porcelain of the Companhia das Índias and Portuguese faience.

The house museum is the seat of the Associação Portuguesa de Casas-Museu and a founding partner of Coimbra – Rede de Museus. On the lower floor is the Galeria de Exposições Temporárias Viriato Namora, renovated in 2019 and devoted to contemporary artistic creation.

Highlights

• Bissaya Barreto's residence from 1923–1925, with an octagonal turret
• Garden with sculptures, a pond and baroque azulejo panels
• Azulejos from the 16th to the 20th centuries
• Paintings by José Malhoa and Sousa Pinto
• Chinese porcelain of the Companhia das Índias and Portuguese faience
• Guided visits during the lunch break

Permanent exhibitions

• Casa e jardim de Bissaya Barreto – Route through the octagonal hall, the reception rooms, the library, the study and the bedroom, with the garden and its baroque azulejos.
• Galeria das Porcelanas, Sala da Faiança e Galeria de Pintura – Chinese porcelain, marble sculpture, Portuguese faience and paintings by José Malhoa and Sousa Pinto, gathered by Bissaya Barreto himself.

Founded

1986

Operated by

Fundação Bissaya Barreto

Admission & discounts

There is also a local resident ticket for €2.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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