Fundação da Casa de Mateus

The Casa de Mateus Foundation was established in 1970 by D. Francisco de Sousa Botelho de Albuquerque, with the donation for public service purposes of the architectural complex composed of the house, chapel and cellar houses, a perimeter consisting of historic gardens, orchards, vineyards, and woodland area and an extensive estate consisting of the archive, library, and museum collections.

The FCM is a private institution with public service missions in the heritage, cultural, artistic, educational, and scientific dissemination areas with a unique location in a low-density territory. It is characterized by a multidisciplinary structure, organized around a unique historical and environmental heritage, developing since its institution in 1970, a persistent cultural and artistic programming, which characterizes it as a structuring cultural pole in the city, the region, and the country.

At the Centre of its action, we find the intersection between historical, natural heritage, arts, and innovation, reinforcing the perception of the value of cultural instruments and local action to overcome major global issues; or the confluence between cultural action, landscape, and territory, from a sustainability perspective, involving people and communities in the emerging reasoning about new forms of relationship with natural resources.