Museu de Artes Decorativas de Viana do Castelo, Northern Portugal, Portugal

5J D 5:00 PM Mar 22, 2022

Spectacular Museum of Decorative Arts
Decorative Arts Museum. Originally the 17th century residence of a Catholic priest, then for over 2 centuries the "palace" of a local noble family, the city of Viana do Castelo repurposed the historic structure into a municipal museum, adding a modern wing. With a fascinating temporary exhibition on "Stucco and Stucco Artsts," the museum's main exhibits include furnishings from the 17th-19th century and other artwork.No Portuguese collection of decorative arts is complete without azulejos (blue tile designs). Three rooms from the original palace that houses the museum covered unique themes: the Four Continents - Africa, Asia, Europe and South America; hunting; and palace living.

4seolram 5:00 PM Oct 29, 2012

Not the most thought-through museum ever, but fantastic building and nice objects
It really is a bit of a mishmash of objects and themes, but still well worth a visit. I recommand bringing your own guide book, since most of the explanations etc. are in Portuguese, allthough there are some leaflets per room that give information about the rooms and the objects in English. The building itself is really beautiful and gives you a nice idea of how the rich must have lived in the 18th century in this part of Portugal. Once a mayor's building, now it hosts several expositions. There is a section on archaeology with objects from the Castro culture, an azulejo section, scattered over the rooms you get to see several paintings from the 16-19th century, Portuguese Faiance, 17th century furniture, the beautiful house chapel, ladies room, dining room and a coin collection. Every month they have a themed exposition. It really isn't a posh museum with a whole team of museoligists figuering out the best way to present it to the public and allthough it is the municipal museum, you really don't learn a lot about Viana do Castelo and its history, but for history buffs it is still a must, time well spend when visisting Viana!