The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, presides today at the inauguration of the National Resistance and Freedom Museum, located in the Peniche Fortress.
The Peniche Fortress was one of the Estado Novo prisons from which, among others, the historic general secretary of the PCP, Álvaro Cunhal, managed to escape in 1960, starring in one of the most striking episodes of the fight against the dictatorial regime.
Classified as a National Monument since 1938, it never received political attention, but in September 2016, it was included by the Government on the list of historical monuments to be concessioned to private parties, under the Revive program. After two months it was withdrawn, due to the controversy it aroused, leading the Assembly of the Republic to defend its requalification, as an alternative.
Thus, in April 2017, the Government approved a recovery plan for the Peniche Fortress to install the museum in the former prison of the Estado Novo dictatorship, intended for political prisoners.
In February 2022, the Peniche Fortress closed for works aimed at installing the museum, an investment of 4.3 million euros, supported by community funds.
The new museum space will open at 12pm.
