There is a new monument in Loulé and it's made of paper. The catalog of exhibition “Loulé: Territories. Memoirs. Identities", which has been on display since June at the National Archeology Museum, in Lisbon, was presented last week and will perpetuate the exhibition that reveals seven thousand years of archaeological treasures in that Algarve municipality.
The dimension of the book and the work it portrays was made clear at the ceremony celebrating the 30th anniversary of Loulé's elevation to the city, during which the publication was presented. “This catalog is a real monument. It will allow us to make better choices in the future», summarized Chamber President Vítor Aleixo.
The session was attended by representatives of the various entities involved in this project, namely António Carvalho, director National Museum of Archeology, and Duarte Azinheira, director of the Publications Unit of the Casa da Moeda National Press, and, of course, the president of the municipality.
For the person responsible for the museum space where the exhibition is open until the end of the year, this «is an essential document, as it will remain in future memory, on the day the exhibition is dismantled. It is a catalog with all the information regarding the exhibition: with the entire museographic project, with the 504 cultural goods that are presented in the exhibition, with the respective descriptive sheets and photographs».
The publication also includes texts by the commissioners and guest authors, including the Algarve writer Lídia Jorge, who writes the opening text of the catalogue, and the researcher Octávio Mateus, who lectured «on the fossils that appeared in Rocha da Pena, here in Loulé».
«They are, in the end, the memories of seven thousand years of history. It goes from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, which is very well represented by the Atas de Vereação, which date from December 12, 1384 and are the oldest in Portugal», highlighted António Carvalho.
Another "absolutely essential" thing are the images from the exhibition itself, which has already been visited by "more than a hundred thousand people". This “because one day, when we are celebrating, for example, the 100th anniversary of the elevation of Loulé to the city, there will hardly be anyone who has seen it. In this way, we will have a record of the exhibition, its museography and also the faces of Loulé, the donors and guardians of the archaeological sites, that our colleague Pedro Barros [Estela Project/Southwest Writing] photographed», said the director of the National Museum of Archeology.
For Vítor Aleixo, the exhibition is “admirable and extraordinary, due to the wealth of information and the capacity it has to surprise us”. «I myself was far from realizing how great the archaeological wealth existing in our territory is. There are finds from practically all times», illustrated the mayor.
The book that results from the exhibition summarizes “the last hundred years of archaeological research in Loulé”. And, in its "600 and many pages", there will be "many clues for future investigations", believes the mayor of Loulé.
This idea was reinforced by Duarte Azinheira, from the National Press Casa da Moeda. “This is an absolutely monumental catalogue. I think I won't be wrong if I say it's the biggest catalog we've done to date. And it has incredible value, because it demonstrates the State of the Art in archeology and all related sciences. This is a book that will live far beyond the exhibition, it has all the conditions to become a classic for all those interested in archeology and, of course, in Loulé», he said.
Out of the catalogue, “the sensations, the emotions” were left, something that, for António Carvalho, is only possible to have “by going to the exhibition”. The good news is that the exhibition will remain open “until the end of the year”, that is, there is still plenty of time to visit.
«It was the work of many people. We formed, from the beginning, a mixed team, which brought together technicians from the National Museum of Archeology and the Câmara de Loulé. And we are going to continue working on the exhibition, with services led by Dália Paulo, so that all the people from Loulé, who number around 70, can visit it», said the director of the Lisbon museum space.
According to António Carvalho, «the exhibition has been very well accepted by a national and international audience, but above all accepted and participated by the Loulé people».
The Loulé Council has been promoting “successive trips, with a special focus on youth” and, according to the mayor, will continue to do so.
Even because there are those who want to go there a second time. “Just now, the councilor told me that the population of Ameixial will return there on February 27th,” said the director of the National Archeology Museum.
Anyone interested in purchasing the catalog can do so «at the Museum, at the Imprensa Nacional stores (Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra) and in the online store of the National Press, where it can be ordered and will be delivered anywhere in the country, in 24 or 48 hours. Later, it will also be found in the main bookstores in the country», according to Duarte Azinheira.
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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