Alfândega do Porto (1869-2019)

Fernando de Sousa (coord.)

This research work, based on a wide range of printed and handwritten sources, seeks to correct some information and to interpret in an innovative way the history of one of the most monumental and iconic buildings in the city of Porto, which recently celebrated 150 years of operation. With this objective, the work is divided into three main chapters, the first of which presents and analyzes the reasons that justified the need for a new customs house in Porto, after the Porto Liberal Revolution of August 24, 1820 and the several proposals for its location, financing and design. The second chapter addresses the construction process of the Alfândega Nova (New Customs) — including the building itself, but also the pier and the railway branch that served the new building. The third and final chapter focuses on the transition from the Customs building, practically devoid of its original functions, to the Transport and Communications Museum and Congress Centre, in the 1990s, addressing the intervention of the architect Souto de Moura in the recovery and adaptation of the building and the main initiatives that took place there over the last two decades, which allowed the Alfândega to become a reference space in Portugal and the world.

Note: Due to publishing rights, only the first pages of the work are available. The book is available at CEPESE's Library.

Authors: Bruno Rodrigues, Diogo Ferreira, Fernando de Sousa, Francisco Queiroz, Margarida Portela, Ricardo Rocha