People who want to do cultural tourism should keep in mind that there are museum houses in Portugal that provide several fantastic experiences: they showcase the best of Portuguese art and fantastic art collections. The Casa Museu Fernando de Castro is located in Porto and is one of the most eccentric houses in Portugal. Therefore, anyone visiting the city of Invicta and looking to know what to visit in Porto should have this attraction as one of the unmissable points of interest.
The Casa Museu Fernando de Castro is part of many of Porto’s tourist itineraries, because it guarantees unique moments for those who visit it, leaving everyone amazed and incredulous at what is hidden in that house.
The Fernando de Castro House Museum surprises everyone. In this article, you will learn about the vast richness of this Porto House-Museum, which stands out for its eccentricity.
Fernando de Castro Museum House: location and history
This attraction in the city of Porto is truly fascinating. Casa Museu Fernando de Castro is located just 800 meters from Praça Marquês de Pombal (just a 5-minute walk), located on Rua Costa Cabral.
Its appearance is relatively unremarkable. It doesn’t stand out among the many houses that keep it company on the street or in the city. However, there is an unusual treasure inside the Casa Museu Fernando de Castro: an unusual collection of objects from other times.
This house served as the residence of a family of art collectors. Therefore, the Fernando de Castro House-Museum has always been linked to painting, sculpture and decorative arts.
Maria da Luz de Araújo Castro, the last heir, was generous enough to donate the property and its contents to the State. This donation served to fulfill the desire expressed by Fernando de Castro, his brother, who intended to found a public museum.
On December 15, 1951, the Casa Museu Fernando de Castro was listed and annexed to the Soares dos Reis National Museum by decree.
Who was Fernando de Castro?
The man behind the most eccentric house in the country was a collector, artist, art aficionado, caricaturist and poet. Therefore, Fernando de Castro (1889-1946) was a restless person, who was interested in several areas.
He was also a dealer. This job was fundamental for Fernando de Castro to increase his collection over time. As an avid collector, he has had the opportunity to come up with a vast array of items, many of them truly unusual.
The Porto Alegre native who created the Fernando de Castro House-Museum collected a little bit of everything that interested him. This work was mainly carried out in the first half of the 20th century. This unique man collected pieces for much of his life, managing to gather a truly unusual collection in his home.
Fernando de Castro purchased several pieces over several decades. He decorated his home in a truly original way. He transformed an ordinary home into a space that could be a unique museum.
Although the collection gathered throughout his life was vast, at the time of his death (which occurred in 1946), the museum had not yet been created. His death represented a problem, because Fernando de Castro had no descendants.
The absence of a will meant that the inheritance fell into the hands of his sister, who was sensible and decided to donate the house and its contents to the State, aiming to transform the space into a museum.
In the collection of the Casa Museu Fernando de Castro, we can find a group of interesting caricatures and some books by Fernando de Castro.
The collection of the Fernando de Castro House-Museum
Number 716 Rua de Costa Cabral does not seem to hide anything valuable. The simplicity of the facade of the building where the Casa Museu Fernando de Castro is located is painted white. However, inside, there is a ‘treasure’, a fascinating heritage. Gilded carving covers much of the interior of the house.
In this house museum, we can find pieces that don’t exist anywhere else.
The collection of the Fernando de Castro House-Museum it is so dispersed and diverse that it surprises everyone who visits it. The arrangement of the objects presented in the various rooms of the House-Museum remains quite faithful to that left by Maria da Luz.
No one would dare think that a set of pieces like the one present in this house museum could be presented to the public in this way. Visiting this house guarantees an unusual experience, because you are in several rooms that present a horror of emptiness. Every space is filled with something.
The collection presented was gathered over several decades. There are several collections presented in the most eccentric house in Portugal. It is possible to find two types of collecting: Sacred Art, which is practically spread throughout the house; and Portuguese Naturalist Painting and decorative arts.
Religious art is almost omnipresent, with erudite and popular representations in the House-Museum.
Useful information
Address: Rua de Costa Cabral 716, 4200-211 Porto.
Contacts: 223 393 770 /
More information, .
Opening hours and prices
Space between Tuesday and Friday is possible. The opening hours are from 10am to 5pm. If you wish to visit at another time, you must contact the space by email.
Access is via a guided tour. However, you must make a prior appointment via email. In group visits, the maximum number of participants cannot exceed 10 people.
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