Category: Civil Architecture > Museum
District: Portalegre > Castelo de Vide > Castelo de Vide > Castelo
Situated in the historic Castle area, in the Alentejo town of Castelo de Vide, the Mestre Carolino Workshop-Museum is located on Rua Nova. This street, integrated into the old urban fabric, is a testament to the locality's artisanal heritage, offering a setting that harks back to the town's traditions of yesteryear.
Rua Nova, where the Workshop-Museum now stands, has been an important center for the art of ironworking since the 16th century. It then hosted around twelve blacksmith workshops, many of them established by artisans of Jewish origin, known as New Christians, who settled there after their expulsion from Spain. This strong tradition of forging and mastery remained alive on the street throughout the centuries, with the Tapadejo family continuing this legacy until more recent times.
The space that can be visited today was, for decades, the workshop where Mestre Carolino Tapadejo dedicated his life to forging. From 1945 to 2001, it was his presence and his work that infused a particular "soul" into this place. Mestre Carolino, recognized for the quality of his creations, personified the dedication and know-how of a craft passed down from generation to generation, making the workshop a living testament to his passion for the art of iron.
The Mestre Carolino Workshop-Museum preserves the memory of a secular craft and the history of a remarkable artisan. Its cultural value is widely recognized, having been distinguished by the Portuguese Association of Museology (APOM) in the "Visitable Collection" category. This distinction underlines the museum's importance as a guardian of intangible heritage and the art of iron, allowing visitors an immersion into a past where manual skill and creativity shaped daily life.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 39.41674100447217, -7.455497685950259
Coordinates DMS: 39°25'0.3"N 07°27'19.8"W
On-duty Pharmacy Castelo de Vide
