This group studies history and heritage from a broad perspective of art, including the materials, objects, architecture and landscapes of everyday life, their knowledge, representations, and practices. This is an interdisciplinary approach, mainly combining insights from the History of Art, History of Architecture and Urbanism, Laboratory Sciences and Heritage Studies, favouring the combined use of different sources and methodologies. Within its broad subject range, the group is presently particularly interested in: textiles; the religious imaginary; visual representations; the challenges posed by the conservation and enhancement of tangible and intangible heritage; travel and tourism; gastronomic itineraries; the processes and practices of the built and landscape environment, including forms, agents, institutions, regulations and mobility networks. In geographical terms, the studies are centred on Portugal and the former Portuguese Empire, and other communities from the Lusophone diaspora.
In addition to collaborative projects, the group also establishes partnerships with heritage management institutions, private collectors, art galleries, conservation laboratories and local communities, among others. The aim is to set up a network of professionals committed to thinking about the creative uses of the past to achieve sustainable development by linking strategies across art, history, and heritage.
Isabel Soares de Albergaria
Coordinator
Mafalda Batista Pacheco
Vice-coordinator
Maria João Castro
Representative of the Permanent Committee for Scientific Committee
