There are six millennia of history, so well exemplified with archaeological pieces from various periods, newspaper clippings, old photographs and maps, bathing suits and even animations that make us immerse ourselves in what were – and are – the experiences of a land with people inside . This and much more can be found in the exhibition “With your feet on the ground and your hands on the sea”, inaugurated this Thursday, May 13th, at the old auction in Quarteira.
The chosen day was not innocent: Quarteira marked 22 years since the elevation of the city, with the inauguration of an exhibition that is, in the words of Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, “a historic landmark”.
“For the first time, we have the opportunity to discover the rich historical heritage of Quarteira, which is 6 years old,” he said.
And this is what we can find as soon as you enter the exhibition, where you can appreciate traces of the presence, in Quarteira, of Carthaginians, Romans and Muslims or know, for example, that the first sugarcane plantations were made in the old floodplain of Quarteira of sugar from the Algarve, which brought slaves to the region.
But the entire exhibition has a particularity: the constant dialogue between current reality and history, both so linked to the sea or was it not a land of fishermen.
As explained by Rui Parreira, archaeologist, curator of the exhibition and director of Cultural Goods Services of the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve, one of the partners of the exhibition, the idea is to «come from the present to the most remote past of this territory».
“There is a fundamental aspect here, which is the most recent history of Quarteira. We have things that people still recognize – the mural of emotions, where we can be moved by this vision of Quarteira in the last 100 years», he said, during the brief guided tour he made to the guests, including the Assistant Secretary of State and Cultural Heritage.
This mural runs through the entire exhibition and is complemented by four large circular tables, where "we can share knowledge", through archaeological remains, such as a 6-year-old vase found in the Retorta, or an ex-voto dedication by fishermen who they were shipwrecked next to Fort Novo, near Praia de Loulé Velho, where many pieces that make up the exhibition were also discovered.
There are also four interactive animations that tell the story of Quarteira over the millennia and the evolution of a territory that, for example, «won and lost sea». And much more was there to show, since the exhibition only has about 10% of all the material that was possible hoard.
“We really collected a lot of documentation that allowed us to carry out this exhibition. The amount of things we managed to gather was something that surprised me», confessed Rui Parreira.
In addition to the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage, which donated pieces that were elsewhere in the country, such as the National Archeology Museum, in Lisbon, there were many pieces donated by people from Quarteira, interested in the history of their land – many of them present at the opening of the exhibition .
For Telmo Pinto, president of the Parish Council of Quarteira, his city is experiencing a «historic moment» with this exhibition.
“This is unique. Quarteira has a story that deserves to be told, but we are used to being just a land of tourism. Now, people who visit us can see that there is something else here: a differentiating product», he considered.
The same idea has Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, for whom this exhibition ends a prejudice: «that Quarteira is a land without history».
“Nothing makes me happier than being here today and being able to say that Quarteira has a very rich history of 6 years!” he exclaimed.
Ângela Ferreira, Assistant Secretary of State and Cultural Heritage, who was present at the inauguration, even launched the challenge for «all Portuguese people to come to know the history of this land».
«The exhibition combines the knowledge of the population to the experts and this is crucial. There are people's memories here, remembrances, also showing that the cultural heritage of this land is inseparable from its geography», he added.
For two years, during which the exhibition will be open, from Tuesday to Sunday (for now, the opening hours are from 14:00 pm to 20:30 pm), anyone can enter the old auction in Quarteira and be “With Feet on Earth and Hands on the Sea”.
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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