The requalification of the Sagres Fortress is a «strategic» project for the country and, although there is still no guarantee of funding for its 2nd phase, there is at least certainty of the commitment of the Secretary of State for Culture.
Francisco José Viegas admitted on Wednesday, in Sagres, that the nearly four million euros needed to move forward with the 2nd phase of the project to refurbish that national monument are still not guaranteed, but expressed confidence that, after the reprogramming of the Portuguese contribution in community funds, that intervention will obtain the approval of the Ministry of Finance.
"As soon as we have this approval, the 2nd phase will advance", guaranteed the Secretary of State for Culture in statements to Sul Informação. The secretary of state did not want to commit to deadlines, but said that it would be "as soon as possible". The expectation is that it can be until 2014.
Francisco José Viegas was in Sagres, Fortaleza, on Wednesday, to present the contents planned for the future Exhibition Centre, considered as the piece most important part of the 2nd phase of the requalification project started in 2009.
The government official stressed that he is "very fond of magical places like Sagres" and guaranteed that this monument will be "one of the poles of the heritage network that we are going to launch." For this, he admitted, it is necessary to complete the planned interventions.
David Santos, president of the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission and manager of QREN funds in the region, through the PO Algarve 21, launched to the secretary of State «the challenge of making this project synonymous with the rebirth of Portugal».
For this reason, the president of the CCDRA said he hopes that the candidacy of the 2nd phase of the requalification «is a reality», adding: «I like this project, because normally projects of this magnitude are not promoted in these ultra-periphery areas», such as Sagres.
Adelino Soares, mayor of Vila do Bispo, expressed his conviction that "the project will not frighten the Minister of Finance, because it is a profitable project in its own right." «Sagres attracts 350 visitors a year, it is the most visited monument in the entire Algarve and one of the most popular in the country. If we have something more to offer, at the Exhibition Center, it will attract even more visitors».
Dália Paulo, regional director of Culture, had already pointed out that “the 1st phase of the requalification, which is practically concluded, only makes sense if the 2nd phase is advanced”. After decades of abandonment and bad decisions about one of the most visited national monuments in the country, Dália Paulo believes that continuing the requalification project is «continuing the dream of making Sagres a reference in national and Algarve tourism again ».
1st phase almost completed, but the rest are missing
With so many affirmed goodwill, is there, in fact, money to move forward with the 2nd phase of the Sagres Fortress requalification project?
For now, the 1st phase is almost completed, which included 23 different interventions and actions, budgeted at 3,9 million euros. The works began in 2009, in a joint initiative of the Ministries of Economy and Culture, financed by QREN/PO Algarve 21, by PIT (Integrated Tourism Programme) and by PIPITAL (Public Investment Program of Tourist Interest for the Algarve, financed by game funds), which ensured the national component.
In this 1st phase, the intervention had to do mainly with the rehabilitation of the fortress walls and the central turret, refurbishment of the buildings built in the 90s and of the outer spaces of the promontory.
As Dália Paulo, regional director of Culture, recalled, this intervention abroad, in addition to guaranteeing better access conditions for people with reduced mobility (a crosswalk was created along the two kilometers of the route), also includes the creation of itineraries with information about the historical heritage, but also about the rich, and in some cases unique, flora and fauna.
The scenic lighting of the so-called compass rose was also completed, a new logo was created for the Fortaleza, as well as uniforms for employees and merchandising.
In the contracting phase, there is the installation of new signage, the system of photovoltaic panels for own energy production, the contract for the rehabilitation of the walls and their scenic lighting.
A very sensory exposure
The 1st phase also included the creation of a scientific guide that would serve as a basis for the museological program and the contents of the Exhibition Centre. This script was coordinated by João Paulo Oliveira e Costa, from the Overseas History Center at Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
The idea is to finally provide the Fortress of Sagres with a space that provides visitors with information about the importance of the monument, the figure of Infante D. Henrique, the Discoveries and the place of Portugal in the midst of all this.
Beyond the simple enjoyment of the place, already attractive as a landscape full of history and myths, in its aspect of finisterre, the objective is now to «complement the experience of the place with the experience of the contents», as highlighted by archaeologist Rui Parreira, from the Regional Directorate of Culture.
Therefore, based on the scientific guide, the team from company P-06, chosen after a competition, developed a project for the Exhibition Center, which will be installed in one of the buildings built in the 90s, designed by the architect João Carreira, and popularly known as «warehouse of cod».
“People come to Sagres for Sagres itself, but it is clear that their visit will be enriched if we offer them content that explains the long history of the site, from this Promontorium Sacrum”, commented Rui Parreira. As Dália Paulo said, “it will be a space that will appeal to all our senses, transporting visitors to the Age of Discovery”. But not only.
The presentation of what is planned for the Exhibition Center was, after all, the reason and pretext for the visit of the Secretary of State for Culture to Sagres.
Nuno Gusmão, from P-06, was in charge of the presentation, who explained that what was intended was to design “an exhibition, but also something very sensory, very emotional”.
Rui Parreira had already said that «the solution presented by P-06 can be enjoyed by families, by groups, it can add value to tourism in the Algarve, through the installation of a museological structure that makes coming to Sagres even more desirable» .
Not foreseeing major changes in building A, which has some difficulties due to its interior compartmentation, the exhibition will include multimedia content, but also «other effects that are not really multimedia, but work as such». These will be effects more at the level of «scenography and light», of «easy maintenance», which, underlined Nuno Gusmão, «is good in these times of crisis».
Because, he explained, "the exhibition can continue by itself, even if something fails in the multimedia". "We tried our hardest to make sure that what was going to be created survives, not least because multimedia content becomes obsolete very quickly." “Maintaining all this was one of our great concerns,” explained Nuno Gusmão.
In addition to the multimedia content and all these scenographic and light elements, the P-06 project also includes the inclusion of original pieces.
The images of the project, which the readers of the Sul Informação you can see it here exclusively, and the general conception of the contents of the Exhibition Center received the applause of all who attended the presentation. The idea that remains is that the Exhibition Center will, in fact, offer a true sensory journey, an immersion in the history, myths and heritage of Sagres, a place that the Secretary of State for Culture said «awakens, as few in Portugal, a true passion».
Note: Photos by Armindo Vicente (presentation), Elisabete Rodrigues (fortress) and P-06 (images of the future Exhibition Center)
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