The value of 7.324 million euros awarded in the exchange for the Biscainhos Palace is detailed in the Council of Ministers Resolution, published today in the Diário da República, stating that the buildings and land the State will transfer to CIM do Cávado are valued at 6.251 million euros.
The State will relinquish the Convertidas building, the premises that house CIM do Cávado, the former D. Luís de Castro school, and the land intended for the construction of the Unidade de Saúde Familiar Campus Vilar.
In return, the State receives the Palácio dos Biscainhos, located in the parish of Maximinos, Sé e Cividade, which houses the museum of the same name.
The Council of Ministers Resolution stipulates that the difference resulting from the exchange (over one million euros) payable by the Portuguese State “will be realized through the sale, in whole or in part, of the State-owned property, named ‘Quinta da Arcela,'” in Lamaçães.
Alternatively, should it not be feasible to regularize Quinta da Arcela in time, the expenses (over one million euros) “are to be covered by funds listed or to be listed under the ‘exceptional expenses’ chapter, managed by the Entity of the Treasury and Finance, to be transferred to ESTAMO, Participações Imobiliárias SA (ESTAMO, SA).”
On Thursday, the Council of Ministers approved the transfer of the ownership of the Museu dos Biscainhos to the State, which until now belonged to the Comunidade Intermunicipal (CIM) do Cávado.
In return, CIM do Cávado gains the lands of Campus de Vilar, Recolhimento da Caridade and das Convertidas, and Escola D. Luís de Castro.
The negotiation process had been ongoing since 2017.
“It is excellent news. We have been requesting this exchange for over 10 years, which will finally be realized, providing us with very important assets and ensuring the Biscainhos Palace [where the museum holding the same name is located] remains under the Ministry of Culture’s possession,” responded Ricardo Rio, president of CIM do Cávado and also the mayor of Braga, on Friday.
The Museu dos Biscainhos reopened to the public in May, following a renovation project that amounted to an investment of around one million euros.
The museum is located in the Biscainhos Palace, founded in the 17th century and transformed in the first half of the 18th century.
In 1978, the palace was converted into a museum.
The palace, its baroque gardens, and collections reveal the daily life of 18th-century nobility and other inhabitants like chaplains, servants, and slaves.
The permanent exhibition provides contextual insight into collections of decorative arts (furniture, goldsmithery, ceramics, glass, textiles, metals), musical instruments, transport means, prints, sculpture/carving, tiles, and painting, covering the 17th century to the first quarter of the 19th century.
The building has been classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1949.
