"This is our wonder in the city of Porto"

The exhibit themed "Douro [DWR] 3 solos entre céu e terra", [Douro, an alchemy between air, land and river"] is now on show at the Pasteleira Reservoir, in Porto. The pre-inauguration of the venue took place on 20 February, in the Pasteleira Reservoir, and it was attended by Mayor Rui Moreira.

The exhibition, curated by Nuno Faria, artistic Director of the CIAJG - Centro Internacional das Artes de José de Guimarães and Eglantina Monteiro, anthropologist and Head of Companhia das Culturas Association had been on display in Bordeaux, in the La Cité du Vin event, from October 2018 till February 2019.

"We have built this exhibit taking into account two dimensions, namely the material dimension, the land, the schist and the immaterial dimension, the spiritual, the sounds and the projected image; both give us the unique force of that landscape, which was man-made", explains Nuno Faria.

"This is a linear exhibit, because exhibits are not texts, in fact there are no texts in this exhibit, there is only a book. What we see here is the sharing of a landscape, where there's no divide between man and landscape", adds Eglantina Monteiro.

Later that evening, Mayor Rui Moreira inaugurated the exhibition, and stated that "this is our wonder, this venue, which will soon be a museum".

Rui Moreira went on declaring that that moment was a pre-inauguration of the soon to be Museum of the History of the City of Porto, as "the museualization is estimated to be fully operational in late spring".

Mayor Rui Moreira shared with visitors that the starting point of that place as a city museum came to mind when passing by that area with fellow collaborators and said "this is the spot. This is what we lack. The Museum of the History of the City has to be here. First, because of the archaeological feature of this site, even pre industrial; and also, because there is a project that begun with myself and Paulo Cunha e Silva [former councillor for Culture] six years ago, which is the "Cultura em Expansão" [Expanding Culture], which sees culture everywhere, involving all citizens. And this is a neighbourhood where that project has been most successful, thanks to the residents". 

Rui Moreira furthered that this was the best occasion to start the opening of this Museum of the History of the City, which is also a museum of the future, "celebrating the Douro, and celebrating ourselves, the Anthropocene, and how we were able to transform an arid and deserted territory, only comparable to the greatest works of Humankind".

"This is our wonder of the world and it is portrayed in all its glory; the landscape, the ancient link between mankind and nature, the microclimate, the language, the wine, the vineyards, the architecture and the river, the tangible and intangible heritage of a land that we celebrate as we cannot forget the Douro ends here [in Porto], but we also have the Douro inside us, in all it represents and that we stand for", Mayor Rui Moreira enthused.

It is worth mentioning that Porto is the first Protected Designation of Origin in the world (sealed by a royal charter in 1756) and the Upper Douro region is in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Landscape List since 2001.

The "Douro [DWR] 3 solos entre céu e terra", [Douro, an alchemy between air, land and river"] exhibit is a great opportunity to unveil a vineyard from the angle of culture and civilisation, allowing active participation by the visitors, by means of an immersive approach and thus enabling audiences to discover the authentic heritage of Porto and the Upper Douro Wine Region.

The exhibit is entrance free and will be on show from 20 February till 20 April 2019. Operating hours are from Thursday to Sunday, from 10 am to 6 pm.

Reservatório da Pasteleira

Rua de Gomes Eanes de Azurara, 122

GPS 41.151579, -8.662588