“Monforte Sacro” project in Alentejo distinguished by the SOS Azulejo award

The Judiciary Police Museum awarded the SOS Azulejo 2022-23 grand prize to the “Monforte Sacro” project, which features around 16,000 tiles from the 18th century that depict the life of Queen Santa Isabel, the authority said.

This project developed by Câmara de Monforte (in the district of Portalegre) and the local Santa Casa da Misericórdia involved the rehabilitation of the old Church of Espírito Santo, with the museum being opened in October 2023, after an investment of around 800 thousand euros. .

Speaking to the Lusa agency, the mayor of Monforte, Gonçalo Lagem, expressed himself “quite proud” with the award, recalling that “this differentiating project” had been developed since 2006 with the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Monforte .

“It is a differentiating project that took a long time to be implemented, we are talking about a national tile heritage, a national relic and treasure and which resulted in a magnificent work that meets all the requirements to win the prize, which includes defense, protection and enhancement of the national tile heritage”, he said.

The tiles were initially installed in the old church of the Convento do Bom Jesus, in Monforte, and this temple was demolished in the 40s of the 20th century.

The panels, owned by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Monforte, were safeguarded and were packed in 59 wooden crates.

With the aim of enhancing the set of tiles, a collaboration protocol was signed in 2006 between Santa Casa da Misericórdia and the Chamber of Monforte, under which the transfer of materials would be made to municipal facilities, so that panel assembly work, registration and repackaging of parts.

In January 2012, according to the municipality of Monforte, the tile recovery project began, with the first phase opening the crates and reassembling the panels and taking inventory.

In addition to the figurative panels alluding to the life of Queen Saint Elizabeth, the collection also consists of moments from the life of Saint Francis and non-figurative panels.

Organized annually by the Judiciary Police Museum, the SOS Azulejo awards are intended to recognize the work of protecting and enhancing Portuguese tile heritage or those of Portuguese origin and tradition.

In addition to this award, the Judiciary Police Museum also awarded, on Monday, an honorable mention to the article published in a scientific journal “GIS based inventory for safeguarding and promoting Portuguese glazed tiles cultural heritage”, written by Bertha Maria Batista dos Santos, Jorge Humberto Gaspar Gonçalves, Pedro Gabriel de Faria Lapa Barbosa de Almeida and Ana Maria Tavares Ferreira Martins Nepomuceno.

The Extra-Contest Prize was awarded to Artur Goulart de Melo Borges, for the merit and relevance of his continued work in the valorization and dissemination of Portuguese cultural heritage, including tile heritage.

The SOS Azulejo project has as partners the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities, the Azulejo Research Network of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon, the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon, the University of Aveiro, the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, the GNR and the PSP.