The places, stories and protagonists of the liberal revolution and civil war are highlighted on a route that shows Porto as a stage for clashes between Liberals and Absolutists, the factions led by the brother princes, D. Pedro and D. Miguel.
One of the must-visit spots is the Soares dos Reis National Museum.
The clash between ideals, at the beginning of the 19th century, strongly marked Porto. From the Revolution of 1820 to the liberal victory in the Civil War of 1832-34, the city intensely experienced the confrontation between these two worlds, two forms of social, economic, religious organization and mentalities. In 1829, the absolutists in power ordered the men who became known as The Martyrs of Freedom to be hanged in a public square, displaying their severed heads, as a form of warning to other rebels.
Stage of clashes between the two fighting factions – Liberals and Absolutists –, led by the two brother princes, D. Pedro and D. Miguel, Porto suffered a 13-month siege (1832-33) that left deep marks on the city and led to to the atrocious suffering of its population. These marks persisted in urban memory, in its streets and places, but also in music, arts and architecture.
The Porto Liberal Route presents you with the challenge of discovering the places associated with this time of struggle and the heart of the Soldier King, also the liberator of Brazil and its first emperor, as an independent country.
One of the must-visit points is the Soares dos Reis National Museum, whose origin dates back to the Museum of Paintings and Prints and other objects of Fine Arts, created in 1833 by D. Pedro IV of Portugal, the first Emperor of Brazil, to safeguard property kidnapped from absolutists and convents abandoned in the civil war.
The Soares dos Reis National Museum has in its custody some pieces that made up the uniform of Coronel de Caçadores nº 5, worn by D. Pedro de Alcântara, Duke of Bragança, during the Siege of Porto: dolman, vest, cap, cocked hat, sword, lanyard, boldrié (belt with talim for hanging a sword) spectacle, map holder.
The first room of the new long-term exhibition at the Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis presents, in rotation, elements of the uniforms used by D. Pedro during the civil war.
It should be remembered that the Porto Liberal Route was created in 2017, bringing together several entities: Porto City Council, Regional Directorate of Culture of the North, Portuguese Army, Venerable Brotherhood of Nª Sª da Lapa, Museum and Church of Misericórdia do Porto and National Museum Soares dos Reis, in publicizing the places associated with that time of struggle and the contribution made by D. Pedro IV, also liberator of Brazil and its first emperor, as an independent country.
Discover the Route here