Museological Center "Póvoa and the River"

Category: Civil Architecture > Museum

District: Lisboa > Vila Franca de Xira > Póvoa de Santa Iria > Póvoa de Santa Iria e Forte da Casa

Location

The Museum Centre «A Póvoa e o Rio» is located in Póvoa de Santa Iria, in the municipality of Vila Franca de Xira. It is situated within the Póvoa de Santa Iria Urban Park, a vast green belt that stretches along the southern riverfront of the municipality.

Its privileged position by the Tagus River, aligned with a pedestrian walkway, creates an inviting environment for a relaxing stroll, allowing visitors to enjoy the riverside landscape as they approach the cultural space.

The Essence of the River

This museum centre was designed to preserve and share the stories of the deep connection between the local populations and the Tagus River. Its collection offers insight into the vestiges of civilizations that inhabited this area over the centuries, leaving their marks on the landscape and culture.

It explores significant regional activities such as ancient salt extraction, the fluvial transport movement that shaped the economy, the evolution of industrialization along the riverfront, and, in particular, the fishing traditions of the Avieira community, which settled along these banks.

Heritage and Identity

The Museum Centre functions as a space that reinforces the identity and collective memory of Póvoa de Santa Iria. Through its exhibitions, it is possible to understand the history, culture, and heritage of this locality, in an approach that covers various aspects of its evolution.

Currently, the space presents the exhibition "A Póvoa da D. Martinho", which results from the merging of the collection of a local cultural association that dedicated over two decades to the study and dissemination of the city's identity values. This exhibition illustrates significant parts of Póvoa de Santa Iria's cultural and historical matrix, with testimonies linked to the name by which the locality was once known: "Póvoa de Dom Martinho", a reference to the 7th Lord of the Morgado da Póvoa, who settled here in the mid-15th century.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt