The Museological Nucleus of Sacred Art of Misericórdia de Loulé was inaugurated this week and will make it possible for the population and tourists to enjoy the space of the Igreja da Misericórdia and its set of sacred art.
«This Nucleus integrates the set of cultural assets, important to the history of religious art in the Municipality of Loulé, dating from the XNUMXth to the XNUMXth century, of which Misericórdia is the owner. This collection includes works of painting, sculpture, goldsmithery, vestments, processional objects, among others», revealed the Câmara de Loulé.
Among these, the paintings include paintings from the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries that portray both the Pietá and the Crucifixion; in the sculpture, the image of Our Lady created in alabaster and which has been in several exhibitions, and the Child Jesus in ivory, of Indo-Portuguese origin. With regard to goldsmithery, this collection includes the Custody Chalice, the Safe of the Blessed Sacrament (where the Blessed Sacrament was kept on Maundy Thursday and was only placed back on the altar in the first Easter celebrations), the key to the tabernacle and the crown of Our Lady.
«Considering that for years the Igreja da Misericórdia served as a place for funerals and that, over the years, this space has been degraded, through a partnership between Santa Casa and the Municipality of Loulé, the Church was the target of works of rehabilitation and restoration, and at the moment specific works are still taking place at the level of the main altar and side altars», explained the Loulé local authority.
Thus, the side altars and the main altar are now bare, but with the ongoing intervention, the intention is to «recover the original Baroque painting of the altar».
«In the sacristy, the exhibition leads us to two themes: the history of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia of Loulé and the Hospital da Misericórdia. Here it is possible to see the collection that shows, for example, the connection between Misericórdia and Carnival, for years one of its main sources of income, or the importance that the Hospital had for the Municipality and for the region since, with the improvements at the beginning of XNUMXth century, it became a pioneer in many treatments performed in the Algarve», he described.
According to Joaquim Guerreiro, councilor for Culture of Loulé's municipality, the opening of this nucleus to the general public is important «from a cultural and touristic perspective». On Saturdays alone, in terms of organized excursions, the city of Loulé is visited annually by more than 40 thousand people, which gives an average of 700 visitors per Saturday. "Loulé needs to have cultural notes so that people create a good perspective of the city and that they take from here a more accurate information about what our history is", considered the member of the executive, at the inauguration ceremony of this museum nucleus.
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