4/5 João X. 1 year ago on Google
A
Fado
Museum,
right
in
the
front
yard
of
the
traditional
Alfama
neighborhood.
It's
a
small
museum
that
provides
a
good
overall
perspective
on
fado
for
the
non
specialist.
The
visit
is
done
with
an
audioguide,
and
exhibits
show
numbers
which
connect
with
sound
and
voice
explanations.
This
way,
the
visitor
can
decide
how
thorough
he
wants
the
visit
to
be:
check
all
the
available
fadista's
biographies
or
just
of
some?
Listen
to
all
the
historical
notes,
or
just
a
few?
Ignore
all
audio
explanations
and
just
skim
the
visuals
of
the
exhibition?
The
museum
tries
to
go
beyond
the
musical
aspect
of
fado,
with
paintings,
media
and
other
cultural
expressions
as
means
to
understand
the
phenomenon.
It
is
aimed
at
the
general
public
(or
tourist)
and
not
to
a
more
specialized
crowd.
There
is
no
musicology,
nor
analysis
of
the
music
form
through
time,
nor
a
decomposition
of
its
characteristics,
nor
of
its
recent
influences,
where
it
comes
from
and
where
it
is
going
to.
But
it
does
document
a
broad
intuitive
picture
of
the
cultural
value
of
Fado.
It
doesn't
promote
the
advancement
of
the
understanding
of
fado,
but
it
does
help
to
frame
the
mindset
of
those
new
arrivals
and
who
have
not
much
of
an
idea
of
what
fado
is.
The
museum
is
housed
in
a
former
water
elevatory
station,
from
the
19c.
It
was
renewed
into
the
actual
museum
by
architects
Santa-Rita
in
1998.
The
interior
architecture
is
of
a
post-modern
style
typical
of
the
duo
of
architects,
with
the
use
of
strong
colors,
play
on
spacial
distortions
and
an
unsettling
fragmentation
of
forms,
in
an
anxious
search
for
drama
(which
sometimes
gets
exhausting).
Where
a
corridor
is
particularly
narrow,
the
visitor
is
thrown
against
a
big
window
opening
up
to
the
Alfama
neighborhood,
as
if
the
neighborhood
was
part
of
the
exhibition
-
which
could
be,
as
so
much
of
fado
is
rooted
to
it.
There
is
a
(almost)
secret
room.
And
the
auditorium
seems
to
be
suspended
over
the
space.
Columns
are
oblique.
The
circulation
might
be
a
bit
confusing,
but
distribution
is
simple:
the
top
floor
has
the
permanent
exhibition
and
auditorium,
the
basement
the
temporary
exhibitions,
ground
floor
has
services,
souvenir
shop,
etc.
Restaurant
and
school
develops
on
a
side
wing.
Tickets
can
be
bought
at
the
entrance.
Wheelchair
accessible.
Efficient
and
friendly
staff.
Backpacks
must
be
stored
in
the
cloakroom.
Photography
without
flash
only.
8 people found this review helpful 👍