The programmed visit of the Academy to the temporary Exhibition – Merit and Recognition: Republic and Presidents – at the Citadel Palace, in Cascais, organised by the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic (MPR), followed by a visit to the recently rehabilitated Palace, took place last Saturday, 13th October.
Our members were welcomed by the Museum’s Director – Diogo Gaspar, who after thanking our presence and the collaboration given to the Exhibition by our member Paulo Jorge Estrela, offered us a detailed account of the process that led to the recent rehabilitation and restoration of this former Royal Palace located within the old Citadel, in cooperation with the Cascais County Council and which allowed its opening to the public, in November, 23rd 2011. The rehabilitation project was made by Architect Pedro Vaz, also a member of our Academy.
Since then, the Director explained, it has been undertaken an exhaustive work of restoration and recovery of the Palace’s original furnishings and artistic patrimony which was scattered in several locations – like, sculptures, paintings, chandeliers, tapestries, upholstery – in order to allow its proper musealisation as an historic house museum. It is also planned the organization of temporary exhibitions of works of contemporary painters of the palace use as a Summer Royal residence and after 1910 as the summer or temporary residence of several Presidents of the Republic, as Filed-Marshalls Óscar Carmona and Craveiro Lopes.
The creation of a Museum Branch dedicated to the Orders of Merit is also planned, but first some unexpected environmental problems, due to the proximity of the sea, must be duly solved as soon as financial resources will allow it.
Exhibition Poster
Thereafter, begun the visit guided by the Curator Alexandre Tojal to the temporary Exhibition dedicated to the Portuguese Orders of Merit – aiming at explaining its purpose, historical context and insignia – and to the numerous national and foreign decorations awarded to the Presidents of the Republic, since President Major Sidónio Pais, during whose term of office the orders were reestablished in Portugal in 1918 – till the present President Professor Doctor Aníbal Cavaco Silva.
As alluded above, mention ought to be made to the fact that our member Paulo Jorge Estrela was not only a Scientific Consultant of this Exhibition, but also loaned an item of his large phaleristic collection, thus giving prestige to our Academy.
In the central display case lays the insignia of the Riband of the Three Orders – which is the Presidential insignia of office as Grand Master of the Portuguese Orders of Merit – followed by wall panels with excellent photographs of the Presidents of the Republic elected after 1976 as well as those of former Presidents since the I Republic, set in chronological order and accompanied by short biographical notes.
Several horizontal display cases were set up dedicated to each President, duly lighted and with legends, bearing a selection of insignia of Portuguese orders and other decorations of each President. In other display cases are shown a discerned selection of insignia of foreign orders and decorations awarded to several Presidents, some curious and quite rare in Portuguese collections (to name but a few: the Republic of China, North Korea, Romania, both from the monarchy and the communist regime, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Cyprus, Republic of Malta, Egypt, Libya, the Kingdom of Jordan, Palestine, the State of Qatar, Mozambique, Cape Verde, the Gabonese Republic, Gambia, Senegal and East-Timor).
Most of these were obviously awarded to the Presidents who were in office after the «25th of April 1974» since it was from then on that Portugal broke its international isolation by renewing or establishing diplomatic relations with a vast range of nations.
The exhibition thus offers an impressive display of insignia of orders and decorations awarded by 56 different foreign countries – from Europe, Africa, North, Central and South America, Asia, and the Middle East.
And if we include Portuguese orders and decorations given to Presidents of the Republic, who were in office since 1910, the exhibition reaches a total number of 126. This includes, as regards some of the Presidents from the first half of the XX century, insignia of orders and military decorations awarded still during the Monarchy.
The exhibition also includes a vast and remarkable collection of photographs of official ceremonies with various Presidents of the Republic, taken on the occasion of State Visits, which include the wearing of Portuguese and foreign decorations, the exchange of decorations between Heads of State or the investiture of foreign dignitaries with Portuguese decorations.
Among those, mention can be made to a photograph taken on the occasion of the President Admiral Américo Tomás visit to Brazil, in 1972, to deliver the remains of Emperor Peter I, which were laid down at the crypt of the Ipiranga Monument in S. Paulo, in which one can see nest to the President, Ambassador Helder Mendonça e Cunha, the Chief of the State Protocol, and the then First Secretary of Embassy, Ambassador Manuel Corte-Real, also a distinguished member of the Academy.
Our members showed great interest in the visit wandering through the exhibition without haste, exchanging ideas and information and asking pertinent questions to the curator Alexandre Tojal.
We must praise the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic and the team responsible for the project, production and the mounting of this Exhibition, since it is an event dedicated to Phaleristics, so seldom seen in Portugal, not only with high museographical quality, exhibiting not only insignia and decorations, but also not frequently seen iconography, as well as having a great pedagogic significance, because it allows us to follow a century of Portuguese history through Phaleristics.
And it should be remembered that the majority of the items exhibited belong to the collections of the Museum, by deposit or by generous donations of the Families of former deceased Presidents or, loaned by former Presidents, thus accomplishing one of the main aims that were behind the creation of this Museum, opened on October 5th, 2004, by President Doctor Jorge Sampaio.
Next came the visit to the Chapel of Our Lady of Victory, newly open to the cult, and to the Palace, guided by the Director Diogo Gaspar and the Alexandre Tojal, who explained with detail the work that has been undertaken by the MPR in the reconstitution of the historical memoir and heritage of the Palace, namely in its artistic, iconographic and living aspects.
The Dinning Hall
The Billiard Room
The explanation of the rehabilitation and restoration of the Palace was given by Architect Pedro Vaz and we visited the state rooms, the former bedroom of king Louis I, who died in the Palace, the Arab room, used by President Marshall Craveiro Lopes has his study, the imposing Dinning Hall, the Billiards room, the closed veranda overlooking the bay and marina of Cascais and the 3rd floor apartments built at the time of king Charles I.
The visit ended at 13h30 p.m. and there followed a lunch at the exclusive and exquisite nearby Cascais Yatch Club Restaurant.
Lunch at the Cascais Yatch Club
The Academy’s Board warmly thanks Dr. Diogo Gaspar, Director of the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic for his collaboration, as well as the Exhibition Curator Alexandre Tojal and Architect Pedro Vaz.
The Museum offers for sale two small but interesting books on the Palace of the Citadel.
The Exhibition can be visited till the end of November: Wednesady to Friday: from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday and Holidays: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
