Museu do Caramulo

Two brothers, Abel and João de Lacerda founded in the 1950's, a unusual museum in a small town called Caramulo, situated on a mountain in the center of Portugal with a luxuriant vegetation overlooking an 80 km valley: the vastest panoramic view of the country.
Abel de Lacerda, lover of art, has constructed a building based on the most recent concepts of modern museums so as to exhibit an unusual collection of arte: 500 objects that range from sculptures, furniture, ceramics and tapestries from the roman era to Picasso.
João de Lacerda, great automobile lover, constructs another building next to the first with the intention of exhibiting 100 cars and motorbikes that are easily taken in and out of the Museum for maintenance and demonstrations.
With the premature death of Abel de Lacerda in 1957, the Fundação Abel de Lacerda was created – today Fundação Abel e João de Lacerda – the institution that runs the Museu do Caramulo, with both buildings for Art and Automobiles, open to the public all year round. More than one million visitors have come to the Museu do Caramulo in its fifty years of existence.

Automobile Collection

The Automobile, Motorcycle and Bicycle Collection in the Museu do Caramulo started with João Lacerda, in 1955, when he bought a 1925 Ford Model T. The collection has grown ever since and is on show in the museum.
Given the success of the museum and its prestige, several pieces have been added to the collections due to the donations from private and public entities.
However, to be put on show each car must be completely restored and in full running condition, just like when it was manufactured. To achieve it the vehicles have to run at least once a year for maintenance purposes. The participation in various events, such as races, rallies, competitions orpublic demonstrations are crucial, not only to guarantee its correct roadworthy condition, but to reach out to the enthusiasts and general public with live and running pieces of history.
This was idea was taken in account, when the second building was constructed, to house the growing automobile collection. Its design allows each vehicle to exit easily, without restrictions.
The Museu do Caramulo has a permanent collection of 30 motorcycles, and 70 cars (of which 14 are vintage cars), representing 36 different makes and 7 countries. The oldest is an 1886 Benz and the most recent a Ferrari 456, of 1998. There are also collections of antique bicycles and tricycles.
Many of the cars on show are connected to the History of Portugal. In the permanent collection at the museum one can see:

• The oldest car in Portugal, still in running condition, an 1899 Peugeot;
• The Bugatti 35B that in 1931 established the speed record in Lehrfeld at more than 200 km/h;
• The bullet proof armoured Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac that were in the service of Oliveira Salazar;
• The Pegaso, given by General Francisco Franco to President Craveiro Lopes;
• The Chrysler Imperial belonging to the Portuguese Secret Service (PIDE) that was used in the escape from the Caxias Prison;
• The Renault that belonged to "conselheiro" João Franco;
• The Rolls-Royce that was used by Queen Elizabeth II, President Eisenhower, Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II during their state visits to Portugal;
• The Fiat offered to João de Lacerda, by the President of the Fiat Group.

Toy Collection

This new collection, which will be a permanent one, has more than 2000 pieces and covers almost a century of toys and miniatures' history, showing their evolution through various phases and materials.
From tin to plastic, to iron, the exhibit offers great variety not only in the pieces on show but also in the countries of origin and the means of production.
The variety of themes on show in very wide, covering areas such as aviation, trains, boats, cars and other forms of overland travel, military and martial, race tracks, games and science fiction, without forgetting Portuguese toys.

The Museu do Caramulo hopes that this new area will not only complement the already existing collections but also, by increasing the educational services it offers, it may attract new visitors.
Besides the museum collection, the museum organizes on an annual basis, the Antique Toys and Collectors' Items Fair (for exchange, purchase and sale) in the museum cloisters, bringing together sellers and collectors from all over the country, in a venue that is unlike the usual venues, and offering at the same time the opportunity to visit the museum's collection.
Art Collection


Started in 1953, by Abel Lacerda, based on the principle of the generosity of benefactors, the art collection at the Museu do Caramulo was made up of gifts from both collectors and contemporary well-known artists, such as Vieira da Silva, Jean Lurçat, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso.
The art collection is very diversified given the different categories of the objects on show. covering a long period of history, from the age of Antiquity up to the Contemporary period.
The rooms of the museum have paintings, sculptures, furniture, objects in gold, glass, enamel, textiles and ceramics. In this last section, the objects reveal the taste and technology of ceramics from different periods, from the Han and Tang dynasties in China, to a jug by Picasso, Delft and Ming porcelain, and most particularly, the famous bottle by Jorge Álvares of 1552.
In the textile sector, there are four monumental tapestries, ordered by the King of the Discoveries – D. Manuel I – and made in Tournai in the first quarter of the XVI century. Given their extraordinary cultural value, these pieces are an exceptional means of understanding the XVI century, and the relationship between Portugal and Flanders and show the influence of the Portuguese Discoveries in Western art.
In paintings, the Museu do Caramulo exhibits a selection of works by consecrated Portuguese artists, such as Grão Vasco, Silva Porto, Columbano and Amadeo de Sousa Cardoso. There are also works by the Flemish artists such as Frei Carlos, Quinten Metsijs, Isembrant, Jaco Jordaens and of French artists such as Hyacinthe Rigaud, Frans Pourbus, Raoul Dufy and Fernand Leger.
The collection of sculptures is made up of works made by Portuguese artists such as Salvador Barata Feyo, Canto da Maya, Leopoldo de Almeida or António Duarte, and also works by foreigners such as José Cañas and José Clará.
The Museum of Caramulo is rightfully considered one of the principle museums in Portugal, reflecting the careful and rigorous selection of the works on show, made up by an extraordinary collection that covers all areas of Art.