On the Route of the Cathedrals Exhibition to See at Ajuda

The cathedrals have been throughout history much more than places of prayer. Learn everything about it at Ajuda National Palace.

 

The Directorate General of Cultural Heritage (DGPC) and the National Secretariat for Cultural Heritage of the Church present at the D. Luís Gallery of Palácio Nacional da Ajuda the exhibition "On the Route of the Cathedrals - Constructions and Identities", which will be visible to the public from June 28 to September 30 of this year.

The Portuguese cathedrals are a patrimonial set of recognized singularity, which over the centuries has assumed an important role in the structuring of the territory and in the definition of a national identity. The place chosen by the episcopus to establish its chair reflects the evolution of mentalities, knowledge, the arts and architecture, having influenced values ​​such as urbanity and civilization.

Assuming the priceless value of these monuments, the DGPC and the National Secretariat for the Cultural Assets of the Church signed in 2009 a cooperation agreement for the development of the "Cathedrals Route" project. It is an initiative extending throughout Portugal, involving local, regional and national partners (through the Cabidos, Parishes and Regional Directorates of Culture), along with other entities, and which over the years has already resulted in many valuations of the assets involved.

The absolutely unprecedented exhibition that is now presented in Lisbon concretizes, through museological language, the remarkable patrimonial and artistic wealth of this Route dispersed in space and time. It is a show aimed at the general public, in which the Cathedrals are presented as anchorage points of various possible itineraries, always contemplating their material and immaterial legacy.

It is also an unrepeatable moment, since the pieces now assembled will hardly ever be shown in one place. On the other hand, this initiative intends to give a new impetus to the "Cathedrals Route" project, sensitizing the national and foreign public to what constitutes a national cultural itinerary of unusual wealth, which must be valued and promoted.

Using an attractive, didactic and contemporary museography, a narrative was created that articulates the genesis and the specific characterization of each one of the monuments, at the same time as it highlights the notoriety of the whole. The visitor will thus be transported to the specific territory where each Portuguese cathedral is implanted, in an experience that will involve multiple informative elements, namely the graphic and audiovisual components.

This exhibition, which gathers more than 110 pieces from cathedrals and churches of mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores, some classified as National Treasures, is curated by Marco Daniel Duarte, art historian and director of the Fátima Sanctuary Museum.

In addition to its territorial coverage, it is also notable for the breadth of the chronological period represented - VIII a.C. until the 19th century - and also for the diversity of the objects exhibited, ranging from furniture to goldsmithing, through painting, textiles, sculpture, pieces linked to liturgical practice, old books and musical scores.

This set of pieces of exceptional historical, artistic and symbolic value came from museums, libraries, archives and the cathedrals themselves. It includes the Chair of the ancient bishops of Ceuta (15th century), a piece of late medieval furniture preserved in the Colegiada de Santo Estêvão, in Valença do Minho, and which is the oldest episcopal chair of Portuguese heritage, of various objects venerated in Portuguese cathedrals, such as Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte (18th century), Coimbra Cathedral (Sé Nova) or the Baby Jesus da Cartolinha, from Miranda do Douro cathedral.

The access ticket has the value of 5 euros (exhibition only) or 8 euros (exhibition + PNA). The visits take place from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., every day, except on Wednesday.

 

More info about the National Palace of Ajuda here