I would like to share with you some pictures and a video from our New Year trip to this magical coastal city. I loved the architecture, art deco houses, churches and the tiles, of course! Endless Pastel de Nata’s and interesting breads.
Casa-Museu Fernando de Castro.
We visited two amazing institutions, very different from each other. Firstly we went to a private house of an art collector Fernando de Castro (Porto, 1889-1947) who was a Portuguese businessman, poet, caricaturist and collector, who dedicated his life to acquire the most beautiful objects and designed his own house museum. The museum features an impressive collection of paintings from the XVI to the XX century (particularly XIX and XX Naturalism), religious sculptures, ceramics and the most remarkable carved wood pieces coming from Portuguese churches raided during the Republic period. The house is densely covered in carvings, doors, altars, mirrors, paintings, sculpture and other object of art. Francesco had an interesting vision of placing paintings or even door panels on the ceilings and creating impression of doorway where there was none. Maybe he used them as portals? Looking modestly from the outside, once you step in, you feel transported to a different dimension. The visit was surely the highlight of our stay, as I love little, quirky collections and small museums created with much love. Book your visit directly with the museum by emailing se@mnsr.dgpc.pt as the entry fee is as little as 2 euro. You can also find an experience on AirBnB but this will cost you 12 euros.
Serralves Museum of Modern Art and Miro Exhibition
I have mixed feelings when it comes to modern art… You know, I feel like artists forgot that art should lift the spirit up, bring some light, beauty, can serve a higher purpose. At least in my understanding. Amid that I chose to visit the Serralves because it offers modern art museum, a dreamy-looking Art Deco villa and extensive gardens perfect to explore on a sunny January day. I saw the first magnolia blossom this year! The entry fee of 20 Euro for all seems not that much. To my surprise, the villa showed a large collection of paintings by Joan Miro, such a positive, colorful and happy artist. This was defenetly the highlight of the visit. We saw some sculptures in the gardens, a headache-causing “immersive experience” in a pavilion designed by a Japanese artist (don’t go!) and walked on a tree-top walkaway, which was fun. The museum itself is housed in a wonderful white building with clean shapes, beautiful shadows and great to move around. The art… well. None of the displays made any great impression so I will skip that. Enjoy some shots from Miro and the gardens, as well as the villa, which has a magnificent bathroom made of pink marble.
If you like Joan Miro I invite you to watch an art lesson on this artist I recorded some time ago.
Lastly I wouldn’t be myself if I would skip any Harry Potter related places of interest. Livraria Lello is the most beautiful bookshop in the world! Really special interior as well as publishing. Just really crowded so arrive early 🙂
https://www.livrarialello.pt/en/home
To finish with some music, below is a wonderful moment we had while resting in the sun, with a street performer playing good tunes, drinking orange juice and soaking the atmosphere of the city.
Ananda Flow 