Cultural places in Portugal

Museum • Mafra, Lisboa

In Sobreiro, between Mafra and Ericeira, the José Franco Museum-Village recreates, in clay, stone and memory, the rural saloio life of former times. Also known as the José Franco Typical Village or Saloia Village, it was born from the dream of the potter and sculptor José Franco, who in the early 1960s wanted to turn his childhood memories into a space of ethnographic character. The village combines replicas of old workshops, shops and furnished houses with real objects, evoking the customs and work of the Mafra region. A windmill, watermill, blacksmith, threshing floor, tavern and carpentry workshop help identify trades that gradually disappeared. Beside this life-size world, miniatures appear, inhabited by small figures, with scenes of fields, schools, chapels, grocery shops and even a recreation of fishing Ericeira. The whole preserves, with artisanal simplicity, a collective memory shaped by the hands of a popular artist.