In 2019, Beja celebrates the 350th anniversary of the first edition of the “Portuguese Letters” by Soror Mariana Alcoforado, the nun who lived her entire life, from 11 to 83, in the city's convent.
For this reason, “Festival B” will be, this year, dedicated to Mariana Alcoforado and the “Portuguese Letters”: one of the most beautiful love stories.
«A sublime, unrequited passion. A passion that was born on a special day, in the year 1666, through the barred window of a convent. A passion made universal by the five letters written to a young French cavalry officer named Nöel Bouton, Marquis de Chamilly and, later, Count of S. Saint-Lèger», recalls the Chamber of the capital of Baixo Alentejo.
Although the originals of the letters have not reached our times, its existence is known from its first edition, dated January 4, 1669, in France, by Claude Barbin, entitled “Lettres Portugaises Traduites en François”.
In the same year, another edition followed, in the German city of Cologne, by Pierre du Marteau.
There were several editions all over Europe and, as early as 1923, according to Godofredo Ferreira, a scholar and collector of works on letters, there were 130 editions in several languages: French, English, Italian, German, Spanish, Danish , Dutch and Portuguese.
This greater love, “too big for one being”, as the poet Reiner Maria Rilke wrote, was, and continues to be, a source of inspiration for poets, philosophers, writers, filmmakers, plastic artists, musicians... works and editions.
The initiatives of the commemorations in Beja begin on January 4th, at 19 pm, with the inauguration of the permanent exhibition «00 Passos», at the Museu Regional de Beja, with the support of the District Archives of Beja.
This exhibition is promoted by the Municipality of Beja, CIMBAL and the Museu Regional de Beja, it is part of the program of Festival B – Beja, Cidade de Mariana Alcoforado and will be open to the public until the 31st of December.
«In a figurative sense, Mariana Alcoforado lived her life in the physical space of 100 steps. When he was baptized in the church of Santa Maria and at the age of 11, when he entered the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, the very short distances from his parents' house limited his experience in space and in life. The exhibition 100 Passos seeks to portray this space, which although short, did not prevent the emergence of a huge passion and a greater love, “too big for one being” as defined by the poet Reiner Maria Rilke», explains the municipality.
The Municipality of Beja is also preparing an extensive program dedicated to the figure and legacy of Mariana Alcoforado in 2019.
Who was Mariana Alcoforado?
Mariana Alcoforado was born in Beja, in 1640. Baptized in the Church of Santa Maria, on April 22 of the same year, she was her godfather, D. Francisco da Gama, Count of Vidigueira and great-grandson of Vasco da Gama.
Daughter of a nobleman from Trás-os-Montes, Francisco da Costa Alcoforado, and a woman from Bahia, Leonor Mendes, Mariana entered the Convento da Conceição at the age of 11.
After the novitiate, she professed at the age of 16, later exercising the positions of scribe and vicar.
On July 30, 1709, she was proposed for the post of Abbess of the Convent, having been defeated for such an important post by 48 votes in favor and 58 against. D. Joana Veloso de Bulhão would then be elected.
In March 1723, at the age of 83, he signed for the last time a document relating to the closing of the accounts for the quarter of the Convento da Conceição.
He died on the 28th of July of that same year, a victim of his advanced age.
He left behind one of the most beautiful love stories. Love and disaffection in the mismatch between a nun and an official French knight that was revealed in the edition of Cartas Portuguesas, by the French publisher Claude Barbin.
His life followed the fate that had been laid out for him by his family, of confinement in the convent until the date of his death in 1723, at the age of 83 years.
From what is known and what is presumed, including the mystery of her existence, love and passion accompanied her until her last moments of life.
In addition to the beauty of her letters and the interest they aroused throughout the centuries throughout the world, the example of Mariana Alcoforado raises several social issues, some of which are very current: gender condition, social position, the overlapping of a destiny imposed on freedom to choose.
His life and his figure are equally mysterious and beautiful for what is left to us as a legacy: love and life!
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