MMIPO - Museu da Misericórdia do Porto Admission Ticket

Visit: MMIPO - Museu da Misericordia do Porto, Rua Flores 15, Porto 4050-265 Portugal

Explore the MMIPO superb collections through its rooms; Misericórdia do Porto: History and Action, Benefactors, Painting and Sculpture, Gold and silverware and vestments, Misericórdia Church, Administration and Fons Vitae.

The visit to the Museum is also an opportunity to get to know better the past and the future of this part of town. The museological space includes the Misericórdia Church and the Gallery of Benefactors, an example of the architecture of iron and glass in the city. Built in the sixteenth century, the church received a major intervention in the 18th century with a predominant involvement of Nicolau Nasoni.

The Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Porto was founded in 1499 upon the recommendation of the king of Portugal, D. Manuel I. Queen Leonor continued to support the institution after its foundation, being attentive to the problems of society.

The Confraternity of Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Porto, like other confraternities, is an institution of solidarity and assistance that has accumulated, through the ages, legacies of numerous benefactors.

The testaments were the main instrument for the granting of donations, implying counterparts to the Misericórdia do Porto, the most common being the celebration of masses in the name of the deceased. Other times, the gifts were intended for the poor, the prisoners, the orphaned maidens, the street beggars and to hospitals.

The history of Misericórdia do Porto can be known through the important artistic legacy that the institution gathered over time. At room 3 we present a small part. Most of the works of painting and sculpture of this exhibition date from the sixteenth to eighteenth century and are signed by artists that marked the national or regional art scene, or of unknown authorship. Their study - constituting a work in progress which can be updated and detailed - contributes to recognize in each piece styles of the period, the influences they received and the role that each plays in becoming object of art history itself.

Worship and culture are complementary dimensions in the action of the Santas Casas da Misericórdia. Such complementarity is evident on the exhibited pieces in this Museum.

The collection of jewellery of Misericórdia Porto is connected to the order and purchase of liturgical objects to support religious celebrations. The execution and the decoration of the vestments worn by the chaplains of the institution, also have artistic interest. This room only has a small part of the objects that integrate these collections.