Revealing the history of the Arade, “Stories Brought by the River” inaugurates tomorrow, Saturday, February 24, at the Museu de Portimão.
“Stories Brought by the River”, a new exhibition in Portimão, is inaugurating tomorrow, February 24, in a public ceremony scheduled for 16h30 in the Museu de Portimão Auditorium.
The event will also include the launch of Portimão’s centenary commemorative programme, based on a vast set of activities “inspired by people and based on memories, in the present and the future”, says the Municipality.
In addition to kicking off the celebrations of “Portimão, Centenary City (1924-2024)”, this new exhibition aims to share the results of scientific research carried out in recent decades. These uncovered fragments of the city’s past, revealing many stories about the Arade River, which since ancient times has been an access point to the interior of the Algarve thanks to the natural shelter its estuary offers. These unique conditions led Portimão – probably ‘Portus Hanibalis’, ‘Portus Magnus’ or ‘Cilpis’ – to grow in close connection with the river, forming part of an extensive network of commercial and cultural exchanges.
The progressive silting of the Arade affected its navigation, making it necessary to carry out extensive dredging that removed enormous amounts of sediment from the riverbed, later deposited on the beaches, in which countless traces of the past were discovered, testimonies of the occupation of this region since pre-history to the present.
These testimonies from other eras were collected by members of the Projecto Ipsiis Association, with whom the Portimão Museum has been developing an innovative research project since 2014, entitled DETDA, Prospecting with metal detectors in the dredged deposits of the Arade River and the Alvor Ria.
The themes developed within the scope of this exhibition are the diversity of intercultural and territorial relationships established over time, their dynamics and their impact on the development of society.
Challenge for visitors
Designed to provoke sensations, the exhibition challenges visitors with a game. Presenting pieces whose function is difficult to perceive, visitors are encouraged to guess their functionality from several suggested hypotheses.
Through objects and illustrations of environments, visitors are led by the current of stories of the naval activities of the port open to the world, of the defence and protection of the port, of the riverside life to the sacred memories of the river, thus being invited to discover fragments of a past that reveals the “stories brought to us by the river”.
Evoking memories with an eye on the future
Portimão is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a programme “based on memory, the present and the future and inspired by people”, with the exhibition opening on February 24 playing an important part.
The commemorative programme, under the motto “Portimão, our city”, is aimed at different audiences and highlights the roots of this unique land while rethinking its history through musical shows, exhibitions, seminars and cinema, in addition to the edition of several literary products about Manuel Teixeira Gomes, invoking the President-writer as the city’s patron.
“Stories Brought by the River”
Date: From February 24 to November 3, 2024.
Location: PORTIMÃO MUSEUM
Time: Tuesday, from 14h30 to 18h00 | Wednesday to Sunday, from 10h00 to 18h00
Price: €3.00
