Amarante - Museu Municipal Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso

The settlement of Amarante became famous through the work of St. Gonçalo de Amarante (also known as São Gonçalo, 1187-1259). The Dominican friar settled here after his pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome. He was instrumental in the development of the region, with many local structures attributed to his efforts, including the construction of the stone bridge across the Tâmega River. Following his death, Amarante became the destination of pilgrimages and grew substantially.

In the 16th century, D. João III ordered the construction of the São Gonçalo monastery above the chapel where, according to tradition, São Gonçalo lived and was buried.

The "Museu Municipal Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso" is housed in part of the Convento de São Gonçalo.

Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso (1887 - 1918) was a pioneer of modern Portuguese painting. He lived in Paris for some time and made the acquaintance of Amedeo Modigliani, Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brâncuși, Alexander Archipenko, Sonia and Robert Delaunay. He also became aware of Expressionism, and the art of Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter gave him important impulses.

In Barcelona, he met the Antoni Gaudí and married his niece Lúcia Peretto. He died of the Spanish flu in 1918.


Watermills, c. 1915