Casa Museu Dr. Frederico de Freitas (Frederico de Freitas House Museum), Funchal

Casa Museu Dr. Frederico de Freitas (Frederico de Freitas House Museum), Funchal

Located in the city of Funchal, Frederico de Freitas House Museum is named after Dr. Frederico de Freitas, a renowned lawyer, notary, and collector from Madeira who rented the property around 1941. The building was originally the residence of the Condes da Calçada and their ancestors, known as Casa da Calçada, since the end of the 17th century. It underwent significant remodeling in the 19th century.

Freitas was a passionate collector of decorative arts, and he bequeathed his vast collection of furniture, sculpture, painting, ceramics, engraving, crystals, and pewter objects to the Autonomous Region of Madeira. Later, the building was acquired by the Regional Government and gradually restored to serve as a museum while preserving the original environment of the collections. The museum officially opened on June 29, 1988, and expanded in 1999 with the addition of the purpose-built House of Tiles (Casa dos Azulejos), which houses the museum's tile collection.

The museum's collection consists of decorative art pieces dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries, including sculptures, paintings, engravings, furniture, ceramics, crystals, and pewter objects. The pieces are arranged in a way that reflects the collector's domestic environment. The furniture collection comprises national and foreign pieces from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Religious themes dominate the sculpture and painting collections, which are predominantly European.

The collection of mugs and similar objects dates from the 18th century to the present and comes from various origins. The engravings include those related to Madeira from the 18th and 19th centuries. The House of Tiles contains tiles of different origins, including oriental, Islamic, medieval, majolica, Dutch, and Portuguese. The Portuguese tile collection features a substantial set of 17th-century patterns and represents national production from then until the present day.

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Casa Museu Dr. Frederico de Freitas (Frederico de Freitas House Museum) on Map

Sight Name: Casa Museu Dr. Frederico de Freitas (Frederico de Freitas House Museum)
Sight Location: Funchal, Portugal (See walking tours in Funchal)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery

Walking Tours in Funchal, Portugal

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