Arraial Ferreira Neto, Industrial heritage hotel in Santa Maria, Portugal
Arraial Ferreira Neto is a former fishing village that remains preserved today as a hotel with historical significance, featuring a walled complex with multiple gates and organized residential and working areas. The buildings combine traditional materials with practical design from the time they were built.
The complex was founded in 1943 after a disaster destroyed the earlier settlement and a new housing solution for fishing workers was needed quickly. It developed into a self-contained urban community that sheltered hundreds of people dependent on tuna fishing operations.
The site preserves traditional fishing equipment and displays that show how people lived and worked here over many generations. The exhibition tells the story of tuna fishing's importance to the local community.
The facility now offers 157 rooms and several suites with a restaurant for guests and allows visitors to explore the former worker and residential structure. Access is straightforward with connections to various transportation options in the area.
An engineer named Sena Lino designed this place with separate areas for factory work and residential living, which was unusually practical for the time. The mix of traditional building materials and modern techniques created a combination rarely seen in worker settlements.
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