Scientific and cultural tourism venture is born in Évora
Updated: 5 hours ago
Barely 80 metres from the Roman Temple in the beautiful city of Évora, in an old mansion that stood vacant for more than 30 years, a project unique in Portugal is born: "Casa Morgado Esporão - Residence of the Arts, Sciences and Humanities".
The mansion brings together architectural elements from the 14th, 15th, 17th and 19th centuries. In the 15th century it was the residence of Álvaro Mendes de Vasconcelos, 4th Morgado do Esporão, nobleman of the House of Bragança, a central figure at the court of King João III, Portugal's ambassador at the court of Emperor Charles V in Madrid and, later, at the Vatican with Pope Paul III. The prominence of this historical figure can be seen by visiting the Chapel of the Morgado do Esporão, in Évora's Sé Cathedral, where Álvaro Mendes de Vasconcelos is buried with his family. The building was later occupied by various figures linked to the clergy and the rural nobility of the Alentejo.
"When I first visited the building it became clear that it was of great quality and offered extraordinary opportunities. It has 1,700 square metres of covered area, with remarkable architectural and decorative features, an outdoor patio and garden, in the most central part of the city", says the mentor of the company created to manage this venture, which involved an investment of more than one million euros and was co-financed by the Alentejo 2020 programme.
"Essentially, Casa Morgado Esporão is run as a boutique aparthotel, with apartments ranging from 30 to 85 m2, but it aims to work with specialised markets so as to become a reference venue for segments related to the arts, sciences and humanities", stresses Ana Meireles, the director of the venture. "The accommodation we offer consists mostly of apartments with a bedroom, a living room with kitchenette and a bathroom, which allows guests to make medium-length stays."
Although the venture is only now taking its first steps, "Spanish researchers on sabbatical at the University of Évora have already stayed here for medium-length periods, as has a North American writer who was in Évora writing a novel. These guests gave us great joy, because Casa Morgado Esporão was originally created with this kind of public in mind." Another surprise was the interest Casa Morgado Esporão aroused among senior staff of the technology industry in Évora. "Many of these professionals do not live in Évora and come here for relatively short periods. Traditionally they stayed in hotels or country estates near the city. Today, with Casa Morgado Esporão, they can stay in the historic centre. They have the services of a hotel, but we add the convenience that only an apartment can give", concludes Ana Meireles.
Unlike many traditional tourism ventures, Casa Morgado Esporão is not waiting for tourists to discover it. In addition to traditional bookings, made directly through its website or through the usual online booking platforms such as Booking and Airbnb, Casa Morgado Esporão organises events in the artistic, scientific and cultural fields. "We already have lined up the second edition of a film course geared to the production of scientific and cultural documentaries, taught by one of the BBC's collaborators on the Planet Earth series, and other courses in areas related to the natural sciences are being considered for 2018". The courses held at Casa Morgado Esporão stand out for being intensive and residential. Both teachers and students stay at the House, which allows a much higher level of interaction than in traditional courses. Besides courses, Casa Morgado Esporão organises and hosts exhibitions, musical evenings, colloquia and debates. Already in 2018, the company was contacted by a major British publisher wishing to launch a book here.
"I have long looked at Évora and seen a city with enormous unrealised potential. It is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, in a region that covers a third of the country's area and rivals in beauty other great landscape icons of the Mediterranean such as Tuscany, Provence and the Peloponnese. It also brings together a critical mass out of proportion to its size and has an artistic and cultural tradition going back at least to the 16th century. All this a stone's throw from Lisbon and a mere step from Spain. Tourism operators have already grasped the potential of both the city and the region, but we bring a new dimension that has been neglected until now: scientific and cultural tourism that interweaves with the city's vital economic activities. These people come here not only to rest and enjoy the services the region offers, but also to carry out part of their training or professional activity", explains Ana Meireles, who returned to Portugal to devote herself to this project.
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