Pushing Preservation Forward: An Affiliate History of WMF Portugal
When the World Monuments Fund (WMF) team restored Lisbon’s iconic Tower of Belém in 1993, their major success in saving a threatened landmark could not have been a better kickoff for the work of our Portugal affiliate. But that project was not only notable for the significance of the site it took on—it also changed the face of heritage conservation in the country as a whole. As well highlighting the most well-known masterpieces of Portuguese architecture, our work also includes a permanent scientific committee and engages with the country’s modernist achievements. Learn how our work in Portugal has pushed the discipline forward, from supporting key scientific research to mobilizing our global network to bring in new expertise and perspectives.
One of the most iconic monuments in Portugal, the Tower of Belém was built by King Manuel I to guard the entrance to Lisbon’s harbor. Its exquisitely rich exterior and sculpted balconies and limestone ornaments resemble a Portuguese galleon petrified in stone. But its location in the Tagus estuary, which exposed the site to weathering from the elements, had taken its toll on the iconic tower by the time we intervened in 1994. We began by systematically mapping the deterioration and alterations on each stone and removed lichen and black crusts that had built up before addressing the crucial issue of water ingress. WMF Portugal’s work at the Tower of Belém irreversibly changed the way stone conservation practice is done in Portugal, defining new methodologies and producing scientific data that has been used as a key reference point for other projects. Our intervention gained international recognition and received the Europa Nostra Prize in 1999.
World Monuments Fund’s work at Tower of Belém, led by our Portugal office in partnership with the Public Institute of Cultural Heritage, has been made possible, in part by support from Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Cimpor, EDP, BBVA - Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (Portugal) S.A., The Navigator Company, RTP - Rádio Televisão Portuguesa S.A., Sandeman & CIA, S.A., Lusitânia Companhia de Seguros S.A., BIC – Banco Internacional de Crédito, Panatlântica SGPS, Robert W Wilson to Conserve our Heritage, FLAD - Fundação Luso Americana para o Desenvolvimento, Samuel H. Kress Foundation, CMVM - Comissão de Valores Imobiliáros, Inforcor – Design e Publicidade Lda, ACN Economistas Lda.
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Jerónimos Monastery and Church
The most visited historical site in Portugal, the sixteenth-century monastery of Jerónimos is an architectural marvel that has been admired for centuries. Five hundred years after the ground-breaking for Jerónimos, WMF Portugal embarked on its first campaign between 2000 and 2002, restoring the cloister to its former glory. This monumental task included sealing the terraces against water infiltration, repointing destabilized masonry, cleaning, and consolidating the fragile and deteriorating bas-relief. More than a decade after the restoration of the cloister, the WMF Portugal, in coordination with PCIP, conducted survey work that documented significant structural issues in the Santa Maria de Belém Church. The results led to the development of a ten-phase conservation-restoration plan consisting of six interior and four exterior phases, allowing the monument to remain open for public visitation and religious and state events. While WMF’s work at Jerónimos has been completed, Portugal’s Public Institute of Cultural Heritage is continuing conservation of the church.
World Monuments Fund’s work at Jerónimos Cloister, led by our Portugal office in partnership with the Public Institute of Cultural Heritage, has been made possible, in part, by support from Cimpor; EDP; Fundação Millennium bcp; Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento; Galp Energia; SGC SGPS; The Navigator Company; The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust; and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
World Monuments Fund’s work at Jerónimos Church, led by our Portugal office in partnership with the Public Institute of Cultural Heritage, has been made possible, in part, by support from The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust; GRoW @ Annenberg, a philanthropic initiative of the Annenberg Foundation led by Gregory Annenberg Weingarten; Richemont International S.A.; EDP; Fundação Millennium bcp; ACP - Automóvel Clube de Portugal; Team Quatro Lda.; and Grupo Brisa.
One of Europe’s last great rococo buildings, Queluz Palace is often referred to as the “Portuguese Versailles.” To preserve this magnificent site, WMF undertook conservation work on the stone sculptures and fountains, held workshops on preservation and maintenance, and assessed the condition of the 50,000 glazed tiles that cover the interior of the Grand Canal before implementing emergency conservation measures. When an expert from WMF Britain’s team visited Queluz in 2003, he happened to spot one of these lead sculptures and immediately recognized it as the work of the British artist John Cheere. The excitement that this discovery created eventually coalesced into an ambitious campaign by both WMF Portugal and WMF Britain to restore the sculptures. This international collaboration allowed for Portuguese technicians to train with British experts in new techniques for metal sculpture conservation—a testament to WMF’s power to leverage global resources for local change.