The new public company Museus e Monumentos de Portugal (MMP) has a compensatory allowance of 27.45 million euros, a sum already included in this year’s State Budget, but published today in the Official Gazette.
According to the statement issued by the Council of Ministers on Thursday, “the award of a compensatory indemnity to the MMP, the entity in charge of protecting and safeguarding 38 national museums, monuments and palaces from January 1, 2024, was approved”.
The Council of Ministers’ resolution was published today in the Diário da República and reads that “it is important to ensure that [the MMP] has the necessary resources to ensure the transition of ongoing management, as well as the time needed to structure itself, both as a public business entity and as an organization made up of 38 museums, monuments and palaces previously under the management of five other entities”.
The public reorganization of the heritage sector came into operation on January 1, with the formal start of the MMP company and the public institute Património Cultural, which replaced the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage.
MMP is headed by the former chairman of the board of directors of the São João National Theatre, Pedro Sobrado, with Cláudia Leite and Maria de Jesus Monge as vice-chairmen, while the public institute has the former director-general of Cultural Heritage, João Carlos dos Santos, as chairman of the board, with Catarina Coelho and Laura Castro as vice-chairmen.
The MMP, based in Lisbon, includes “museums with national and international collections, as well as national palaces and monuments and World Heritage sites”. It also has responsibility for the José de Figueiredo Laboratory (LJF), the State Contemporary Art Collection (CACE) and the Photographic Documentation Archive and its collection at the Sacavém Fort.
Both bodies have an advisory board and, in the case of the MMP, there is also a board of trustees, chaired by the rector of the Portuguese Catholic University, Isabel Capeloa Gil.
MMP has thus become responsible for some of the most visited places in the country, from the Belém Tower in Lisbon to the Guimarães Castle and the Sagres Fortress in Vila do Bispo, as well as all the national museums and others such as the José Malhoa Museum in Caldas da Rainha and the Lamego Museum.
On July 4, Prime Minister António Costa announced the refurbishment of the Burnay Palace in Lisbon to house the MMP and the acquisition of three buildings on Avenida 24 de Julho to expand the National Museum of Ancient Art, in an investment of 26 million euros.
