Museu de Artes Decorativas de Viana do Castelo

About the museum

The Museu de Artes Decorativas occupies an urban manor house on the Largo de São Domingos, next to the church of the convent of the same name. The building was commissioned in 1724 by the canon António Felgueiras Lima and hosted the Archbishop of Braga, D. Rodrigo de Moura Teles, on his trips to Viana to take the baths. It later belonged to the Barbosa Teixeira Maciel family, and it became known as the Casa dos Barbosa Maciel or Casa das Figuras (House of the Figures).

The idea of a museum in Viana arose in the 1920s, and the building was bought by the municipal council to house it. The Regional Museum opened during the festivities of Senhora d'Agonia in 1923. In its early years it exhibited archaeological pieces from the citânia of Santa Luzia and objects of municipal life. Later, the collections of Luís Augusto Oliveira and Serafim Neves gave their names to two rooms. In 1955 the Luís Augusto de Oliveira collection, with more than 800 pieces of earthenware, mostly from Viana, paintings, drawings and furniture, became permanently part of the museum. In 1993 a new wing by the architect Luís Teles was added, with a gallery for temporary exhibitions, storerooms and an auditorium. The museum has been part of the Rede Portuguesa de Museus (Portuguese Museums Network) since 2002.

The faience collection is one of the most significant in Portugal, with examples from some twenty factories, especially from Porto and Viana, and a room of its own for the faience of Darque-Viana (1774–1885). The rooms of the noble floor have 18th-century azulejo panels attributed to Valentim de Almeida, with hunting and garden scenes and the four continents, and the interior chapel has azulejos signed by Policarpo de Oliveira Bernardes.

Highlights

• Baroque mansion of 1724 on the Largo de São Domingos
• One of the best collections of Portuguese faience, including Viana faience
• eighteenth-century azulejos with the four continents
• Chapel with azulejos by Policarpo de Oliveira Bernardes
• Collection of drawings and models by Soares dos Reis

Permanent exhibition

• Exposição permanente – faiança, azulejos e artes decorativas – Portuguese faience, especially from Viana and Porto, furniture, painting and rooms with eighteenth-century azulejos of the Barbosa Maciel mansion.

Founded

1923

Operated by

Município de Viana do Castelo

Admission & discounts

Free admission: 20 January, 18 May (International Museums Day), 18 June and the European Heritage Days.

The €2.40 ticket gives access to the Museu de Artes Decorativas and the Museu do Traje (Costume Museum). Free admission also for members of APOM and ICOM.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum has an education service. Free admission for children in pre-school and the first cycle of the municipality and district.

Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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