Casa Museu José Régio, Literary house museum in Portalegre, Portugal.
Casa Museu José Régio is a literary museum in Portalegre spread across two floors with 17 permanent exhibition rooms. The spaces display furniture, artworks, and personal belongings that once belonged to its resident.
The building dates from the late 17th century when it served as an annex to São Brás Convent. It later functioned as a military headquarters during the Peninsular Wars before becoming the museum it is today.
Régio's collection of Christs, mostly carved in wood, includes convent pieces and popular works; many formed part of brides' trousseaux. He also gathered flat-backed saints, figures of the house of David, Portalegre clay figures and Coimbra "ratinho" plates, which seasonal harvest migrants traded for clothes and cloth.
The museum occupies both floors of the house, with 17 permanent exhibition rooms plus a reserve room; the poet's bedroom and study are kept as he left them. Some collections, including the numismatic and medal collections, are not on display for lack of space. The building stands in the Sé e São Lourenço parish of Portalegre, in the city centre.
Régio started by renting just one room in this former boarding house but gradually expanded his space to accommodate his growing collection. This expansion shows how his collecting passion reshaped the structure of his daily living.
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