It is probably the most striking monument in Faro and one whose image is automatically associated with the Algarve capital.
The Arco da Vila, the entrance to Cidade Velha next to Jardim Manuel Bívar, is only known from the outside by the vast majority of people. A situation that will change very soon, as the intervention that will allow residents and visitors to know from the inside, but also “from above”, this architectural work of art is being finalized.
The Chamber of Faro and the Algarve Tourism Region joined together to renew the Tourism Office of Faro, taking the opportunity to, at the same time, make the building that welcomes it, that of Arco da Vila, to be visited. More than providing the discovery of a monument with enormous heritage value, as well as the unique view it provides, over Vila-Adentro and the Ria Formosa, this new museum space will reveal the history of Faro and, particularly, of this Arch, a work that symbolizes the city's rebirth after the November 1st, 1755 earthquake.
«We made a partnership with RTA in order to re-qualify it and it will open very soon with triple the area and with new skills. Above the Tourism Office, the Chamber's Culture services operated, which left to make room for an interpretive center», according to the mayor of Faro Rogerio Cod.
So, whoever goes to the new Tourism Office in Faro, which is due to reopen in its original location before the end of the year (currently located in the Municipal Museum), you can visit the second floor of the building, which will be transformed into an interpretive center and go outside to visit the exterior, including the tower. of the clock and the lookouts.
A wide space, which the Sul Informação had the opportunity to visit, guided by the director of the Municipal Museum of Faro Marco Lopes. And, although Arco da Vila and its surroundings are very familiar to anyone who knows Faro, the perspective that the visit provides, namely the opportunity to get to know up close the architectural elements that make up this Vila-Adentro door, become an experience of authentic discovery, capable of surprising anyone (see the photo gallery below).
Providing an experience that is both educational and enjoyable is the main objective of the museological project that the Museum of Faro designed for the Arco da Vila.
«The idea of this interpretive center is that Arco da Vila is the central element of the story that is narrated here. We want to reveal who commissioned the work, the architect who designed the building and also the artistic style that is at issue here, with its specificities. But we will not only emphasize architecture and the artistic issue, we will also explore the intangible heritage associated with it», according to Marco Lopes.
In addition to the monument, «which is a magnificent thing and, so to speak, the emblem of the city of Faro», will also be made known «the two legends associated with it, through a documentary»: that of Santa Maria de Faro and that of Saint Thomas Aquinas, «whose figure is above the city gate» and who is the protagonist «of a delightful legend».
The center starts on the ground floor of the building, inside the Tourism Office itself and goes upstairs to the first floor, where there is a mezzanine. Until reaching the second floor, visitors will be able to learn about the history of Faro, succinctly, "so that you can see that none of this happens by chance, as this was a city gate, which belonged to a defensive system."
The second floor will be entirely dedicated to the 1755 earthquake and the Arco da Vila. In addition to pieces and documents associated with this dark period in the history of Faro and Portugal, will be focused on the figures of D. Francisco Gomes de Avelar, who ordered the construction of the Arch, and Xavier Fabri, an architect who was then Bishop of Faro he went to Italy and was one of the most respected internationally at the time.
«This fact is curious, because the Algarve was a peripheral region, and it became more peripheral after the earthquake, with the destruction and poverty it generated. However, Gomes de Avelar went to look for an architect who was screaming, who came to live with him at the Episcopal Palace. In addition to having knowledge, the Bishop was a cultured man and a patron», framed the director of the Museum of Faro.
All elements of the interpretive center will have subtitles in Portuguese, English and Spanish. The material needed for the installation of the permanent exhibition is, at this moment, chosen or to be produced. In addition to this area, there will be the possibility of visiting the Noble Hall of the former Civil Government of Faro, in a different wing of the same building, under an agreement signed between the municipality and the Ministry of Internal Administration.
This will be one of the main heritage elements of an area of the city full of history. Hence, there is an effort, by the local authority, to recover it, winking the eye to tourists.
«We have been investing in the requalification of our heritage. We would like to do much more, but resources are limited. Even so, this year we have already managed to recover the entire Old City wall, a project that should have been carried out more than ten years ago, as it was very degraded and some stones had already fallen. In the coming years, we are rested about this», illustrated, on the other hand, Rogério Bacalhau.
During the summer, an intervention had already been carried out in Arco da Vila itself, which was “very degraded”, as well as in Rua da Misericórdia, the one at the Tourism Office, which was reclassified. This example given by the municipality is infecting the owners, since «there was a lot of private investment in the restoration of buildings in the city's downtown».
See all photos (Hugo Rodrigues/Sul informação):
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