Petition has poet Gonçalo Salvado as one of its promoters
The Portuguese Parliament has admitted discussing the possibility of transferring the remains of poet Florbela Espanca (Vila Viçosa, 1894 - Matosinhos, 1930), from her tomb in Vila Viçosa to the National Pantheon.
The news was advanced by the regionalist weekly newspaper from Beira Baixa - "Reconquista" and comes in the sequence of the public petition created by the poet from Albicastria Gonçalo Salvado, in 2022. The poet was informed that the petition was admitted, through a communication from the Commission of Culture of the Assembly of the Republic.
The document he is promoting states "cultural and social reasons" to justify the request. "This possible transfer will obey all elementary justice, given that Florbela Espanca, not only is considered to be the greatest poet of the Portuguese language and the highest peak of Portuguese poetic femininity, but she is also a true icon and national symbol, materializing in herself, the loving Portuguese woman, dedicated to singing, with the greatest expressiveness and ease, the subtlety of the universe of love.
In the petition, Gonçalo Salvado also points out that "Florbela Espanca's life path made her a pioneer and a high example of the affirmation of women's rights in a society traditionally led by men and ignorant of the value of words like Freedom".
Florbela Espanca and Matosinhos
Florbela Espanca is a Portuguese poetess who lived in the early twentieth century. Although she was born in Vila Viçosa, Alentejo, her relationship with Matosinhos is associated with her second marriage, to the doctor Mário Lage, who worked as a clinician in Matosinhos.
Florbela married Mário Lage in 1925, and the couple settled in Matosinhos. Although Florbela's stay in Matosinhos was brief, only a few months, the city will have had a significant impact on her life and her work. It was in Matosinhos that Florbela wrote part of her last book, "Charneca em Flor", which was published posthumously.
Still in Matosinhos, Florbela faced marital and health problems that aggravated her already fragile mental health. The poet suffered from depression and anxiety, and was even admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Matosinhos. Unfortunately, Florbela Espanca ended up committing suicide in Matosinhos, on her birthday, December 8, 1930, at the age of 36.
The relationship between Florbela Espanca and Matosinhos is therefore marked by moments of happiness, but also of sadness and suffering. The relationship between Florbela Espanca and Matosinhos is therefore marked by moments of happiness, but also of sadness and suffering. However, the city was forever linked to the life and work of the poet, through the name given to the Municipal Library and the bust, by sculptor Irene Vilar, which is located in the garden of Rua Ló Ferreira.