Marble Museum of Vila Viçosa, Portugal. A Mirror of Geological and Mining Heritage.

Abstract

The old quarry of Gradinha, at the gates of Vila Viçosa, had been deactivated and abandoned for many years, with several environmental impacts and safety risks for the population of the village. The city council of Vila Viçosa acquired this space, projecting it and reactivating it, in a museological way. The proximity to an urban center (Fig. 1) and the fact that it has an old open pit exploitation with well development, typical of the extraction units of the region, heap with mine waste and all the support structures, has made this space an exceptional place for the installation of a museum dedicated to the marble. At present, the Museum of Marble has a huge and rich collection of around three hundred pieces, a number that is increasing thanks to the donations and generosity of industrialists and individuals, as well as the support of institutions, where pontificates the University of Évora. The project that is now underway represents a new museological trend, aiming at improving the quality of exposure, with a redistribution and labeling of the pieces in a logical way and the improvement of scientific and technological information related to all the geological, industrial, anthropological and environmental patrimony.