Within the scope of the candidacy submitted to Plano Operacional da Cultura, EGEAC EM developed the “Project of Recuperation and Valuation of Fado Museum”, based on the rehabilitation of Recinto da Praia’s building and on the requalification of the Museum’s circuit, in order to substantially improve the welcoming and access of visitors, so that they may enjoy the Museum’s ethnographic patrimony in a better manner.

The “Project of Recuperation and Valuation of Fado Museum” comprises several areas of intervention: from the rehabilitation of the Museum’s façades and roof coverings, to the valuing of its museological circuit through extension and renovation of the permanent exhibit, to the elimination of architectural barriers within the building in order to guarantee handicapped visitors accessibility; we will also be installing video surveillance systems and renovating the visitors’ control, counting (for statistic purposes) and ticketing systems.

Throughout the building’s three stories, the new museum guider contemplated the integration of an important fine arts patrimony and renovated museum pieces, parallel to an interactive multimedia technology, significantly increasing the quality and amount of information available to visitors about Fado, our most important piece of identity in terms of musical patrimony.

For the first time in one museum circuit, the new Fado Museum exhibit gathers important emblematic pieces that were in possession of other institutions, thus enriching Fado’s cultural patrimony.

Visitors may admire the emblematic work “O Fado”, by José Malhoa (1910) on display, temporarily ceded by the Museum of the City; “O Marinheiro”, by Constantino Fernandes (1913), as well as works by Cândido da Costa Pinto, Júlio Pomar or João Vieira.

Throughout their visit, visitors will be able to use a number of consultation points documenting Fado’s history, its close relationship with the city that witnessed its birth, biographies of hundreds of artists and the possibility of auditioning dozens of Fado songs.

An audio-guide system in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish constitutes a very important support tool, which allows the visitor to select and listen to dozens of Fado songs.