A exhibition “LOULÉ. Territories, Memories, Identities", on display at the National Archeology Museum, in Lisbon, gave the council the Municipality of the Year award, in the Algarve category, with the winners having been announced this Friday, 16 November.
«A great joy». That was how Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, reacted to this distinction, a few minutes after receiving the award, in a ceremony that took place at Paço dos Duques, in Guimarães.
“We are all very happy. It is a joy for us, for Loulé and for the technicians of the Museum of Loulé and the National Museum of Archeology who care so much», he said, in statements to the Sul Informação.
For the mayor, this is even the «recognition of the great work done» for this exhibition that covers 7 years of history in the municipality of Loulé.
“LOULÉ. Territories, Memories, Identities” reveals, through archeological pieces, customs, eating habits and the daily life of the various civilizations that passed through the county.
In this sense, the exhibition is a kind of “Portugal in miniature” that mirrors the History of Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula and Europe, covering some of the best kept secrets of the municipality of Loulé, such as the site of Corte João Marques, writing do Sudoeste, Cerro da Vila, the Castle of Salir and the Historic Center of the city.
The exhibition is the result of 15 months of preparation, 12 scientific and executive commissioners, 40 authors of texts, 1200 inventoried archaeological assets, 504 exhibited pieces, 166 restored pieces, 154 archaeological sites duly mapped in the documental and geographic information system, in partnership with 11 institutions, 54 technicians involved, contributions from more than 20 professions, among many other numbers.
And this is not the first time the exhibition has won an award. In 2018, “LOULÉ. Territories, Memories, Identities” won the “Best Partnership” and “Best Catalog” categories in the awards from the Portuguese Association of Museums (APOM), with the right to an honorable mention in the area of “Cultural Education and Mediation”.
These are reasons enough for Vítor Aleixo to say that the exhibition “has been very much loved” and that it has “became all records”. “We are close to 250 visitors and this is the recognition of all this joint work”.
For the mayor, one of the great achievements is the «massive presence of children who, in this way, got to know and understood the municipality's identity».
Many of these visits were by young students from the municipality, in a partnership between the City Council and the schools. "Right now, therefore, I have to share the prize with the school community," he concluded, speaking to the Sul Informação.
For this “Algarve” category, the municipalities of Albufeira, with the project of the Working Group for the Elderly, and Alcoutim with the Festival do Contrabando, were also nominated. At national level, the big winner was Arouca with the “UNESCO World Geopark”.
These awards are promoted by the University of Minho and aim to recognize the good practices of local authorities.
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