Portimão Council is set to launch an awareness campaign in the hopes of deterring vandals targeting the Manueline stonework of the old Quinta dos Morais, now on display in the Jardim Ribeiro Telles, beside the Municipal Market. The pieces date back to the 16th century. They have been repeatedly daubed, scrawled on, and scratched, forcing a string of conservation and restoration jobs.
Since the garden opened, the stonework has stood in the open air in a purpose-built structure designed to protect this piece of the city’s historic and architectural heritage whilst keeping it open to the public.
In recent months however, damage to the stones and to the metal frame around them has led to several rounds of cleaning and repair. They were carried out by a specialist conservation and restoration team at the Portimão Museum, led by Andreia Romão.
Each job involves assessing the condition of the stone, running preliminary tests, carefully removing inscriptions and graffiti, cleaning the surfaces, and applying a protective anti-graffiti coating. The work uses materials and products suited to preserving the stonework.
The slew of treatments restore the ensemble to a state close to its original condition, but recurring vandalism has appeared soon afterwards over recent months, forcing the same procedures to be repeated at further cost to the council.
The new campaign aims to raise awareness among the public, through a range of media, explaining why this heritage matters and why behaviour that damages it must stop.
The council stresses that safeguarding the stonework depends on monitoring and technical repairs, but also on the community’s involvement in protecting these elements of local history.
“Keeping this heritage alive also depends on how the community recognises the value of the space and its features, embracing these relics of the past in a positive way and taking an active part in protecting them,” reads the council’s press release.
Beyond the cost of repairs, the council says the damage diverts staff time and money that could go on other work to enhance and conserve the municipality’s heritage.
The initiative also aims to teach people, particularly younger generations, about the historical and architectural value of the stonework, encouraging knowledge and shared responsibility for protecting the region’s cultural heritage.
“They are records of a place, an era and an everyday life different from our own. Living in the present means respecting the past and leaving a legacy for the future, which is why everyone’s contribution is essential,” the council concludes.
Source: Portimão Council
Photo credit: Mais Algarve
