Casa Galante and Quinta do Dourado classified as monuments of municipal interest

Casa Galante, in Perafita, has been classified as a monument of municipal interest, and the procedure to classify Quinta do Dourado, in S. Mamede de Infesta, both in Matosinhos, has also been opened, as published yesterday, 10th April, in Diário da República

The City Council of Matosinhos, approved in extraordinary meeting on 8 February the final decision of the classification procedure of Casa Galante whose "main feature" is "its hybrid character, resulting from the reconstruction suffered in the late nineteenth century by intervention of a Brazilian emigrant".

According to information available on the website of that local authority, the "aspect that most marks the genesis of this Casa do Galante, in Perafita", is the return of Portuguese emigrants from Brazil and the works performed by them in farming houses in the area of Matosinhos.

The now monument of municipal interest is a house with 19th century characteristics, which was built over an older building.

"The Casa do Galante is an example of a hybrid residential and agricultural structure. A house that boasts elements that aim to show nobility and prosperity, but at the same time celebrates the taste for the rural world and agricultural activity," it reads.

The property now classified was covered by the law establishing the general regime for the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage

Today's edition of the Diário da República (DR) also establishes the opening of the procedure for the classification of Quinta do Dourado - Quinta de Santo António, in S. Mamede de Infesta as a Monument of Municipal Interest.

The Matosinhos city council deliberated the opening of that procedure located in rua da Igreja Velha, in São Mamede de Infesta, in the union of the parishes of São Mamede de Infesta and Senhora da Hora on January 25.

According to the website of that union of parishes, the Quinta do Dourado is composed of a noble and caretaker's house, garden, chapel, stone threshing floor and a cortinha de lavradio, a monumental gate with a niche carved in the tympanum to collect the patron saint.

The complex also has a small baroque chapel, erected under the protection of S. Cristovão, referenced since 1741, as well as a pavilion, flanked by two gunnels of good lavor, and, in front of it, a large lake framed by baroque sculptures in granite.

The original administrative process is available for consultation in the Technical Services building, in the Architectural and Historical Heritage Commission of the Matosinhos City Council, and a copy of the process may be consulted in the Parish Council of São Mamede de Infesta and Senhora da Hora.

Interested parties may present suggestions and/or information, under the terms and conditions established in the Administrative Procedure Code, about the decision to open the administrative procedure for the possible classification of the property.