Caramulo, Portugal, 30 November, 2002
In The Beginning
The town of Caramulo is situated high in the hills at the southern end of the
Caramulo mountain range in central Portugal, from which it takes its name. A strange
place to find a motor museum perhaps, but there it is! But how did it get there?
Prior to 1920 the town of Caramulo didn’t even exist, but came into being through the
dream of Dr Jeronimo Lacerda, who established a tuberculosis sanatorium in the
location where the town now sits, which was to become the largest and most
successful sanatorium, not just in Portugal, but in the whole Iberian peninsular. The
infrastructure to support the sanatorium evolved into the town, and with it came new
technology as it developed. By 1938 all the houses had running water, there was a
proper sewer system with a treatment plant, and it even had its own hydro-electric
power station, all things that we take for granted today, but quite futuristic for a small
town in the hills nearly seventy five years ago.
Evolution
Dr Lacerda had two sons, Abel and Joao, the former became an economist and the
latter a doctor, who were both born in the town. After there father died in 1945, and
with the advent of new antibiotics that all but eradicated the disease during the fifties,
the sanatorium from which the town had evolved was virtually redundant. However,
they loved their town and the way of life there, so decided that to maintain its stability
something needed to be done to support its economy.
In the mid-fifties they converted some of the facilities to provide accommodation and
to encourage ”altitude tourism”. However, the main priority was to dissociate the
name of Caramulo from tuberculosis. The elder son, Abel, aided by many national
and foreign collectors decided to open a museum of art in a purpose designed
building, which only took four years from inception to completion. Unfortunately he
died in 1957, two years before his vision was inaugurated. His brother Joao saw the
project through to fruition, and as there was some free space in the museum,
decided to exhibit some of his personal collection of classic cars. Thus in 1959
Portugal had its first car museum, one of only around ten in Europe at that time.
From Little Acorns……
As the saying goes ”From Little Acorns Mighty Oaks Grow” and this was the case with
the museum, it proved so popular over the ensuing years, particularly the automobile
display, that he decided to open a new building specifically as a motor museum. This
annexe is just across the road to the original building and was inaugurated in
September 1970, with one of the guests of honour being Lord Montagu of Beaulieu,
whose motor museum is world famous in its own right.
One of the premises of the collection was that all vehicles should be kept in good
running order, and be regularly exercised so that they weren’t just static showpieces
falling into disrepair. This philosophy continues to this day, and vehicles from the
collection are frequently to be seen on international classic car rallies and other
events, ranging from the annual London – Brighton veteran car run to the gruelling
Rallye de Maroc.
Hiccups!
The path of time has not always provided a smooth passage for the museum, but it
has won through the adversity, and survives and thrives today. The military coup, that
overthrew the right wing dictatorship government in April 1974, was the first of the
problems to afflict the museum foundation. Collector friends who had loaned their
cars for display withdrew them, as they thought that valuable classic cars would be
viewed as capitalist decadence under the left wing military regime. However, towards
the end of the decade, as life in Portugal slowly returned to normal with an elected
government, the collection was gradually rebuilt.
A new crisis loomed in 1983 when the local council, who owned the shell of the
building, wanted to depose the founder, who immediately removed his collection
from the premises, as did his friends who had loaned cars, thus the council was left
with an empty building, and obviously suffered from the drop in the number of visitors
to the town, as Joao Lacerda had closed the art museum, because of the hostile
attitude of the council. The council tried to save the situation by handing the motor
museum building over to the Portuguese Classic Car Club, but despite extensive
local government support over a five year period, they were unable to make it a
success. In 1988 the newly formed Regional Tourist Commission opened
negotiations with the Abel Lacerda Foundation to seek a resolution. This was
achieved, the art museum re-opened with the cream of the car collection displayed
on the ground floor, and after a year to restore the ravages of the five year
”occupation” the motor museum re-opened in August 1989.
With equilibrium restored and the Lacerda family cars forming the nucleus of the
display, the collectors once again felt comfortable about loaning their cars for display.
Thus today it has a well established international reputation, and receives in the
order of forty thousand visitors a year. Quite an amazing figure for such a remote
location, some distance from major towns and rail connections.
What’s On Offer?
The art museum building still houses what they consider to be the cream of the
collection on the ground floor, where there is also a boutique, selling souvenirs
relative to both the art and motor aspects of the museum, incorporating a
refreshment bar. At the entrance to the museum gallery there is a 1946 statue of the
”Virgin of Fatima” with subtle backlighting, which lends an air of serenity, almost as if
one were about to enter a temple. In a way you are, one that is dedicated to the
automobile in its many forms. Entering the U shaped gallery that forms the ground
floor display area the first vehicle on display is a beautifully crafted replica of an 1886
Benz, the first petrol driven automobile, although there is some dispute from French
historians on this point. The display also includes a superb 1924 Hispano Suiza with
coachwork by Kellener of Paris, but it is when you turn the bend in the U to reach the
second alley of the gallery that you see the real gems, a line-up of six Bugattis
including Types 35A and 35B, together with a Type 52 child’s car, made with as much
artistry and loving care as its full size relatives. Before leaving the building to cross
the road to the second building, it is worth a visit to the first floor art gallery, where you
will find an eclectic range of paintings, sculpture, furniture and other artefacts.
The second building houses the bulk of the motoring exhibits on two levels, the upper
level being a gallery covering half the floor space of the lower level, so that many
exhibits can be viewed from above. At the base of the stairway to the upper level is an
interesting display of three camshafts from different periods and different capacity
engines. The one from the 1914 Model ”T” Ford weighs in at a modest 7.5kg,
compared to the 1924 Hispano Suiza at a massive 47.5kg, with the 1950 Ferrari one
being the middleweight at 18.5kg. An interesting feature is that all the balustrade
supports are made out of camshafts and crankshafts. On the upper level can be
found the smaller cars in the collection, like an MG TC roadster, and also a collection
of motorcycles ranging from pre-war Harley Davidson to fifties BSA.
The car exhibits are very diverse both in type and age, and some have some
interesting histories. An example is the 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III that was used
by Queen Elisabeth II in 1957, by General Eisenhower in 1960, by Pope Paul VI in
1967 and Pope John Paul II in 1982, an illustrious list of passengers! Another is a
rare bullet-proof 1937 Mercedes Benz W-07 Pullman Limousine that was built for
Portuguese President Oliviera Salazar. Then there are the more modern sporting
orientated models, like the Ford Mustang GT 350, the Lamborghinis in the form of
Miura SV and Countach LP 400S, with Ferrari represented by an F40, chassis #
85251, and an elegant duo-tone blue and grey 195 Inter Vignale Coupe, chassis #
0103S.
40,000 visitors a year can’t be wrong, so if you are in the region a visit would be well
worthwhile.
General Information
Location
From the main Lisbon to Porto A1 motorway, coming from the north take the IP5 road
east in the direction of Viseu, from where Caramulo is signposted, and lies about 25
km south of the junction. From the south on the A1 motorway take the exit for the IP3
east in the direction of Tondela. From Tondela follow the signs north-west to
Caramulo.
Opening Times
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