Museu Casa do Assento – Museu de Território
Museum of rural ethnography in Friande, Felgueiras, in the former house of Américo Ferreira Leite, with sections on bread, wine, olive oil and flax.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Museu Casa do Assento occupies the former house of the family of Américo da Cunha Ferreira Leite (1935–2001), born in Friande. Over his lifetime Américo assembled a large collection of objects linked to agricultural work and rural everyday life, and he bequeathed to the Municipality of Felgueiras, by will, the Casa do Assento, its contents and the adjoining land. The museum opened in August 1993.
After a thorough architectural intervention, the space reopened to the public on 25 May 2025. Today it consists of three buildings: two of traditional rural architecture, restored and returned to their original design, and a contemporary building constructed from the ground up. The museum's mission is to protect and publicise the tangible and intangible ethnographic heritage of the municipality of Felgueiras.
The permanent exhibition is organised into four sections devoted to the cycles of rural activity: the bread section, which reconstructs the cycle from growing maize to baking in the wood-fired oven; the wine section, from the vine trellis to the press (lagar); the olive oil section, centred on large-scale oil mills; and the flax section, which shows step by step how the plant becomes cloth. The museum also has an educational service, an exhibition room, a courtyard and a garden.
Highlights
- Four sections: bread, wine, olive oil and flax
- Reconstruction of the bread cycle, from maize to the wood-fired oven
- Olive oil mills and wine press
- Traditional rural buildings and a contemporary building
- Free admission
Permanent exhibition
- Exposição permanente – ciclos do pão, do vinho, do azeite e do linho – Four sections on the cycles of rural production, with ethnographic objects, machinery and reconstructions.
- Founded
- 1993
- Operated by
- Município de Felgueiras
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
| Groups | –Admission is also free for group visits. |
|---|
Admission is free and includes the visit to the four sections.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By car
Parking available
The museum has a small car park with 4 spaces; the car park of the local church is 300 metres away.
Amenities & dining
- Café: not available
- Restaurant: not available
The museum has no bar or restaurant.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Audiovisual recording is not permitted inside the museum. Touching the objects is not allowed. |
| Good to know | Guided and educational visits are booked in advance by telephone, online form or email. Pets are not admitted. |
