Well … if you venture inland to the small town of São Brás de Alportel, you will discover that the Museu do Traje de São Brás de Alportel is a place where culture, music, art, and community spirit flourish all year round.
This ‘Costume Museum’ is not your typical museum that just showcases exhibits. It has grown into a vibrant hub of creativity and learning, offering daily activities that nurture health, inspire artistic expression, and bring people together.
Founded in 1986, the museum is set within a beautiful 19th-century mansion surrounded by peaceful gardens, which are attractions in their own right. Its mission is twofold. To preserve the Algarve’s cultural and historical heritage, and to provide a dynamic space for community involvement. This vision has been carried forward thanks to the dedication of staff, volunteers, and supporters who have made the museum into what it is today.
For 130 years, the mansion was home to three families, the Dias, Andrade, and Sancho lineages. Its architecture and structure reflect the lifestyle of a prosperous 19th-century household and the estate included everything needed for self-sufficiency. There were stables, workshops, barns, servants’ quarters, orchards, a windmill, a waterwheel and well, tanks, cisterns, washing basins, and irrigation channels.
The story begins with Miguel Dias de Andrade, born in 1835, who was a muleteer, transporting salted fish, palm, and esparto grass to the Alentejo, and returning with wheat and cork.
Did you know that São Brás quickly became a global centre for cork production? And with more than 60 factories in operation, local families prospered, building grand homes and investing in their children’s education. However, when cork production declined in the 20th century, people left town in search of work so that by the 1950s, the population had halved.
In time, Andrade’s granddaughter, Lucília Dias Sancho, inherited the mansion and wanted it to serve the community after her death. Her widower, António Bentes, met local priest José da Cunha Duarte, who had been gathering traditional costumes and artefacts from parishioners but lacked a proper place to display them.
Recognising the opportunity, Bentes donated the then ruined mansion to Santa Casa da Misericórdia de São Brás de Alportel (a charitable institution supporting the elderly community), so it could be transformed into a museum.
A pivotal figure in this transformation was Emanuel Sancho, a museologist whose career has been devoted to valuing local culture and promoting socially inclusive museology. He initially volunteered at the museum but was later hired as its director so that, from 1990 onwards, he steered the museum into becoming a nationally respected institution. He was joined by Cliff Newton, who ran a picture-framing business in the area. Together, they explored ways to bring art into the old stables, an idea that grew into the creation of Amigos do Museu, a volunteer association that continues to thrive today.
What began with small classical concerts performed by music students soon blossomed into a full programme of activities as the museum expanded and, over the past 25 years, the association has become a cornerstone of the museum’s life. Their goal has always been to create a social hub, using art, music, and culture to bring locals and the foreign community together.
Current activities include a choir, theatre performances, dance classes, bridge club, concerts, photography, art exhibitions, keep fit and needlework. They have a multi-lingual library of books and DVDs, and there are regular talks on the region’s history, literature, wildlife, and archaeology. There is something to appeal to every taste and it does make me wish I lived nearby to be able to participate!
Amigos do Museu emphasize sustainability, self-management, and the inclusion of new ideas and talents from the multicultural community. Membership also offers discounts on events and local services, making participation both enjoyable and rewarding.
They are always on the lookout for new members to bring new ideas or skills to the table and run many charity-driven events. At Christmas, in conjunction with Helping Hands Algarve (another charitable group within Amigos volunteers), they are running a children’s Christmas present appeal.
Vânia Mendonça, the current museum director, began working there in 2007 straight out of university and is dedicated to promoting the vision and work of the museum. Along with Mireille Sousa, the administrator coordinator for the Amigos, they have created a special place that has brought the community together not just for entertainment but for growth, sharing and learning.
While the Amigos focus on activities, the museum itself continues its mission as a living institution. Each month, visitors can join “behind the scenes” tours that reveal spaces rarely seen by the public such as the cellars, workshops, costume reserves, exhibition preparation rooms, and research areas. These afternoons are a chance to meet the volunteers and staff and to appreciate the sheer dedication involved in maintaining such a place.
The museum’s permanent collection includes a rich array of traditional costumes, and daily life artifacts reflecting the cork and agricultural industries offering a window into the dress and customs of the Algarve across generations. Temporary exhibitions frequently expand on this, exploring topics from ethnography to contemporary art.
In the museum’s beautiful gardens, there is an amazing collection of old carts and agricultural equipment on show. It is in the gardens that I have attended several concerts and, in July, I had the pleasure of hosting there an exhibition of the Sovereign Art Foundation Portugal Student Prize finalists, accompanied by a concert from Latin Wave. Sitting among the trees on a warm evening, it is easy to picture the Andrade family enjoying the very same surroundings more than a century ago.
The museum’s mission is not only to entertain but also to educate, promote cultural preservation, and strengthen community bonds. So, whether you are visiting the Algarve or living nearby, the Museu do Traje offers a unique cultural experience where you get to see a piece of Algarve history, to learn about its customs and where culture is lived rather than observed. It’s mission is not only to safeguard traditions but also to respond to modern concerns about the environment, community, and identity. Exhibitions and initiatives are designed with thought and intention, reminding us that heritage connects the past with the present and, just as importantly, the future.
So now you know!
For Amigos membership, visit amigosdomuseu.com
Museum do Traje de São Brás de Alportel: Rua Dr. José Dias Sancho 61, 8150-141 São Brás de Alportel – +351 966 329 073 | admin@amigosdomuseu.com
