Portimão Museum

Listing overview

The history of Portimão is deeply intertwined with the natural resources of the Mediterranean matrix of its territory and with the strong fluvial and maritime relationship.

In this context, the processes of transformation and preservation by salt of the pisciculture richness of its waters began in antiquity and later, in the 20th century, an important fishing and canning industry was established on the banks of the Arade.

In 1996, the need to preserve all this historical relationship led to the purchase by the Portimão Municipality of the old fish canning factory “São Francisco”, located on the city’s riverfront.

It is from this renovated factory building, dating from the end of the 19th century, that the Museum of Portimão was created on 17th May 2008, a centre for cultural dissemination and a place to discover the origins and evolution of the community, its territory and the most significant aspects of its industrial and maritime history.

Its landmark exhibition “Portimão, Territory and Identity”, represents a historical synthesis of the socio-economic and cultural journey of the people who lived here and marked the uniqueness of its identity and territory.