There is a new exhibition, a renewed library and the auditorium has been moved. The doors of Casa Fernando Pessoa reopen to the public on 29 August and admission is free until the end of September.
The doors of the new Casa Fernando Pessoa open at Rua Coelho da Rocha 18 after works that made the building more accessible and considerably increased the exhibition area.
The new exhibition will display most of the books that belonged to the writer and the museum’s most important collection, revealing who Pessoa was through the books he read and the marks he left on these pieces. Various documents and objects belonging to the writer are also on display in this exhibition. These artefacts tell episodes of Fernando Pessoa’s life in Lisbon, where he had more than 16 addresses, and in South Africa, where he spent his youth and where he started building his private library. They are also testimonies of life in the city when the writer lived there, and of the literary environment he moved in. There are also works of art representing Fernando Pessoa, such as the famous painting by Almada Negreiros or drawings by Júlio Pomar. While those who visit the museum get a close-up view of these works around the figure of Pessoa, the figures created by Pessoa are also described in his innovative literary game: the creation of heteronyms, the complex and amusing system that is the writer’s distinctive mark in the history of literature.
Memory, literary creation, reading and address are the keywords of this new long-term exhibition that aims to make Fernando Pessoa known in a more comprehensive, intimate, accessible and participatory way. The idea is to share knowledge about Fernando Pessoa, and at the same time spread the word, the power of literature and the effects of reading.
The library space (the Casa Fernando Pessoa houses a vast collection of books by and about Pessoa and also of world poetry) has also been renovated, allowing researchers and students to work in better conditions.
The new auditorium, now on the ground floor, is more accessible while it can still operate at different times from the rest of the building. The works also allowed a more sustainable use of the whole building.
Casa Fernando Pessoa is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm (last admission at 4 pm). Visitors need to register in advance so as to control the number of visitors and for sanitary reasons at visitas@casafernandopessoa.pt
Casa Fernando Pessoa has a Clean & Safe certification awarded by Turismo de Portugal.
The new Casa Fernando Pessoa was supported by Turismo de Portugal through the Accessible Tourism Line.
The remodelling (civil work) is by José Adrião Arquitetos. The museum design is by the design company GBNT and the designers Nuno Quá and Cláudio Silva and was made from a proposal by Paulo Pires do Vale. The Associação Acesso Cultura was a consultant on accessibility.
