On the day that the International Day for Monuments and Sites is celebrated, we cannot fail to mark this anniversary without joining the challenge launched by the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC - Direcção-Geral do Património Cultural) in collaboration with ICOMOS Portugal, by sharing a little bit about the history of the house that currently lends its name to this Museum.
The Morgadio de Vale de Amores, now Casa das Mudas, belonged to Duarte de Brito and D. Joana Cabral, João Gonçalves Zarco’s granddaughter, one of the discoverers of Madeira. A wealthy house, typical of the Calhetan rural settings, it was built during the 17th century and rebuilt during the 18th century, over another pre-existing one, as can be seen by the date inscribed on the lintel of one of the windows, 1759. It is characterized by the elegancy and simplicity of its design. It consists of a rectangular plan and façades, structured over two floors, with a large projecting oven and chimney to the north, torn by sill windows, with guillotine frames, on the first floor and a balcony on the second. One of its last owners was João Ornelas Cabral, a doctor, whose daughters died without leaving any descendants, handing down the property to a goddaughter, D. Henriqueta de Gouveia who died in 1952, without being able to finish the restoration works to the property. The property is then sold by Francisco José de Gouveia to the Funchal General Council (Junta Geral do Funchal).
Currently restored, it integrates the Calheta Municipal Library and the MUDAS.Museu Temporary Exhibition Gallery, an institution that extends its action to the nuclei adjacent to this manor house, as from 2004. A complex architectural project which was designed by the Madeiran architect Paulo David, internationally awarded and, at present, one of the great examples of contemporary architectural heritage in the region that combines past, present and future in perfect symbiosis with the landscape, the territory and the people.
Photographic credits: Architectural Heritage Information System; Madeira Regional Archives and Library, Diário de Notícias da Madeira; Gregório Cunha and Márcia de Sousa.
Credit to: MUDAS. Madeira Contemporary Art Musuem
