Museu de Angra do Heroísmo

About the museum

The Museu de Angra do Heroísmo was officially created on 30 March 1949 under the auspices of the Junta Geral do Distrito Autónomo de Angra do Heroísmo, with Manuel Coelho Baptista de Lima as its first director, who led it for three decades. It was first housed in the Palácio Bettencourt, from 1951 to 1969, and in that year moved to the former Convento de São Francisco, where it remains.

The building was seriously damaged by the earthquake of 1 January 1980, and only some rooms on the lower floor stayed open. After consolidation, restoration and adaptation works, begun in 1991, the museum opened in November 1997 and reopened fully in September 2000, with the completion of the permanent exhibition.

It is a synthesis museum that connects the local, regional, national and global levels and shows the role of the Azores in the Atlantic. The collection is very diverse: notable are military history and transport from the 18th and 19th centuries, painting, devotional sculpture, ceramics and furniture, ethnography, and collections of scientific instruments, costumes, toys and musical instruments. The main exhibition, Do Mar e da Terra… uma história no Atlântico (From Sea and Land… a History in the Atlantic), fills the entire upper floor. The museum also has the Núcleo de História Militar, in the former Boa Nova military hospital, and the Carmina gallery of contemporary art.

Highlights

• The main exhibition Do Mar e da Terra… uma história no Atlântico, which fills the entire upper floor
• Visitable reserves of transport from the 18th to 20th centuries and of stone specimens
• Exhibitions on the Great War and on a Schneider-Canet artillery battery in the Azores
• Church of Nossa Senhora da Guia and cloister of the former convent
• Núcleo de História Militar and guided visits to the Fortaleza de São João Baptista on Monte Brasil

Permanent exhibitions

• Do Mar e da Terra… uma história no Atlântico – The museum's main exhibition, in four parts: the islands of the Azores; Angra as a port of call on the western seaway; from the Captaincy General to Liberalism; and the formation of the contemporary world.
• Portugal, os Açores e a Grande Guerra 1914–1918 – Long-term exhibition on the role of the Azores in the First World War.
• Reservas visitáveis de transportes e de espécies em pedra – Reserves open to the public, with transport from the 18th to 20th centuries and the collection of stone specimens.

Founded

1949

Operated by

Direção Regional da Cultura, Governo dos Açores

Admission & discounts

Prices according to the table published in the museum's 2023 programme; the official table is in Portaria no. 69/2004.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Free admission up to age 14; the education service offers activities and workshops.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The building has a shop, an auditorium with bar (100 seats) and a cloister with room for 500 people. The documentation centre in the head building is restricted to students and researchers.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Hire of premises and equipment: auditorium with bar (100 people) and cloister (500 people).

Plan your visit