Iva Froita was looking at the old Sanatorium Carlos Vasconcelos Porto, in São Brás de Alportel, while remembering her childhood. Daughter of an employee, she tells how the days were spent there, with "a fantastic freedom". The years passed, but the memories did not disappear and Iva was one of the people who, this Saturday, 25th of September, participated in the visit that made known the heritage of that county in the area of health.
The choice of São Brás de Alportel, as the kick off of this cycle of visits, organized by the University Hospital Center of the Algarve (CHUA), was not innocent.
Despite being a relatively recent municipality (created in 1914), it has the particularity of having a lot to tell in the health area.
A guilt it may well be the “good air” of the mountains that, in 1918, led to the installation of a sanatorium there to treat railroad workers affected by the great disease of the time: tuberculosis.
It was there that, this Saturday morning, the visit began, organized by CHUA, and which had as cicerones Cristina Fé Santos, researcher, architect Vítor Ribeiro and Emanuel Sancho, director of the Museu do Traje.
In the old Sanatorium Carlos Vasconcelos Porto, which closed in 1991 and is now the Center for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the South, the cure had almost no medication, which was administered only in the most serious cases.
“Up there, we can still see the famous healing galleries, where the sick were placed to rest and sunbathe. The recipe here was good food, rest and good air», explained Cristina Fé Santos.
At Espaço Memória, which was created in the rooms of the old Sanatorium, it is still possible to travel through those times.
In three different rooms, there are the dishes that were used, the re-creation of a room, clothes, stamps, medical supplies and even machines, such as an electric autoclave that was used for sterilization.
When she learned that this visit was going to take place, Iva Froita felt she could not miss it.
“I signed up right away. This place represents my entire childhood. Up to 9 years old, he came here every day!», he told the Sul Informação. With her mother working in the laundry, it was there that she “did her homework, played and even took naps”.
But, in São Brás de Alportel, the heritage linked to health is not limited to the Sanatorium Carlos Vasconcelos Porto, which, by itself, has earned national fame.
In addition to projects by architect Carlos Ramos to build a hospital - which was never completed -, the José Lourenço Viegas Hospital was built in 1966, which is the current health center, and even ideas, never realized, to build a new infrastructure next to the Sanatorium Carlos Vasconcelos Porto.
For Cristina Fé Santos, «it is interesting to see how, in a small municipality, the desire to build so many buildings was generated».
And what is this due to?
«There is still a lot to answer, but I think that the climate – the question of the good air, which was even highlighted by the famous doctor Sousa Martins – was preponderant. To this was added, later, the desire of people to have services that meet their needs», framed the researcher.
With a council with so much to count in the area of health, the Museu do Traje, where this visit ended, has become a guardian of the wealth that has been donated.
Director Emanuel Sancho has no doubts that «the collection of around 3000 pieces we have is unique in the context of the Algarve».
«We have been integrating donations from old pharmacies, local healers, doctors. Recently, we got all this collection that was packed, spread over several spaces in the museum. Now, a phase of some investigation follows», he said.
These assets include, for example, medical supplies (such as scissors or scalpels), syringes, crockery or an old blood pressure meter.
"In addition to the idea that, in the XNUMXth century, there was no other Algarve municipality that thought so much about the health area, this is a very important collection for the region!" added Emanuel Sancho, speaking to Sul Informação.
To make known the rich heritage linked to health, which exists in the Algarve, is the objective of this cycle of visits which, in October, will head to the Tavira Agricultural Experimentation Centre.
Even because «there is always more and more to discover».
Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação
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