Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Portugal, March 12, 2026 (Lusa) - The municipality of Foz Côa will move forward with a new museum in the Grande de Freixo de Numão and Moutinho houses, representing an investment of over €1 million, according to a local authority source on Friday.

Speaking to the Lusa news agency, the councillor responsible for culture, Ana Filipe, said that the first procedure for the acquisition of services for the refurbishment of the Casa Grande de Freixo de Numão Museum, worth €75,000, aimed at organising the museum's collection, was published today in the Diário da República (Official Gazette).

According to the councillor for the municipality of Guarda, this first procedure for the acquisition of services is aimed at the refurbishment and restoration of the collection, inventory and conditioning of the museum space with furniture suitable for its conservation and environmental control.

"This is the first of a total of six tenders to be launched later this month, which will exceed €1 million. The rest are due to be launched shortly," said the Social Democrat councillor.

According to the councillor, the municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Côa acquired these two properties with the aim of creating a new museum for the area to be integrated into the museum network of the Douro Intermunicipal Community (CIM), to enhance the area and create a permanent exhibition.

"We are also going to refurbish and change the museum content of these two properties so that, together, they will house a museum that will hold the collection gathered and to be gathered at the Archaeological Station of Prazo, Castelo Velho, Romancil, Zimbro or Castanheira do Vento," she said.

Another objective of the project is to create a study centre dedicated to historical and archaeological research.

The chronology of the new museum ranges from prehistory to the Middle Ages, covering other periods in the lives of the region's populations.

The Casa Grande de Freixo de Numão is a 17th-century Baroque palace, an example of 18th-century architecture.

Since January 2025, the Casa Grande de Freixo de Numão Museum has officially been under the direct management of the municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Côa, after years under the responsibility of the Cultural, Sports and Recreational Association of Freixo de Numão.

With this transition, the local authority has taken over the management of one of the most important cultural facilities in the municipality, aiming to ensure greater institutional stability and guarantee the continuity of the preservation, research, and dissemination of the region's archaeological heritage.

With this new phase of management, this municipality in the Upper Douro region intends to "strengthen cultural programming, improve exhibition conditions and deepen the museum's links with the municipality's educational, tourism and heritage policies".

"This measure is part of the local authority's strategy to affirm culture and heritage as drivers of local, educational and tourist development, consolidating the museum as a local facility serving the territory," said Ana Filipe.

FYP/ADB // ADB.

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