Touristic information - Caldas da Rainha
José Malhoa Museum The Museu José Malhoa (José Malhoa Museum) is mainly organised in order to provide a wide view of the Portuguese Naturalism art, around the figure of the painter José Malhoa (1855-1933) and including works ranging from the “Leão Group” (1881-88) to the middle of the XX century, as well as official sculpture work from the Portuguese New State dictatorship period. Caldas da Rainha ceramics work is also represented, with its main focus being on works by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (1846-1905). There is a noteworthy Open Air Sculpture Exhibition in the park surrounding the Museum. The building is the first purpose-built museum in Portugal (1940), justifying its cultural significance. The Museu José Malhoa sustains a continue program of cultural activities, including temporary exhibitions covering a time period that coincides with the authors of the collections or opening to contemporary perspectives, or other actions like conferences, concerts and educational projects that promote the relation with the community, schools or alive artists.
Address: Parque D. Carlos I Caldas da Rainha
Ceramic Museum The Museu da Cerâmica (Museum of Ceramics), in Caldas da Rainha, was created in 1983, fulfilling the wishes of the city’s population. It is installed in the Viscount of Sacavém’s manor house. The 2nd Viscount of Sacavém, José Joaquim Pinto da Silva (1863–1928), had the manor house built in the 1890’s. It was used as his summer residence, as he and his family often visited the city at this time of the year. The building consists of a late-romantic palace which houses the permanent exhibition, and a secondary building where the Temporary Exhibition Room, a Shop, a Pottery Studio, and the Documentation Centre are located. It is surrounded by gardens with alleys, flower beds, flower vases, ponds and an outdoor auditorium enhancing the profuse decoration which adorns the entire set, including tiles from the 16th to the 20th century, as well as architectural ceramics and statuary. The museum includes several collections which represent the ceramic production of Caldas da Rainha and other ceramic centers in the country and abroad.The collections include pieces of ancient pottery from Caldas that date to the 17th and 18th centuries and centers of production of the 19th and first half of the 20th century. The work of the potter Maria dos Cacos, author of utilitarian anthropomorphic pieces, and of the ceramist Manuel Mafra, are noteworthy.Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro’s pieces deserve special attention, as they are one of the most representative assemblies of the great master in Caldas ceramics, which documents the intense work of the Fábrica de Faianças das Caldas da Rainha, between 1884 and 1905.Also presented is earthenware from the Real Fábrica do Rato, traditional pottery, local sculpture, and miniature productions from the 19th and 20th centuries. A group of contemporary ceramics by author, which include, among other works, pieces made by Llorens Artigas, Júlio Pomar and Manuel Cargaleiro stand out. The Museum also holds a collection of tiles of Portuguese, HispanoMoorish, and Dutch production from the 16th till the 20th century, comprising about 1200 tiles and 40 tile panels. It also presents a collection of contemporary pieces, which illustrate the design and production of ceramic and glass from the 20th century, which are part of a donation made to the Museum in 2007, consisting of 1205 pieces. Adress: Rua Dr. Ilídio Amado - Ap. 97 Caldas da Rainha
São Rafael Museum São Rafael Museum is a picturesque place where you can do a guide visit between the creative, historical and alive author work by Bordallo Pinheiro and his disciples. Adress: Rua Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro nº 53 Caldas da Rainha
Thermal Hospital of Caldas da Rainha Founded in 1485 by Queen D. Leonor, Caldas da Rainha Thermal Hospital is the oldest in the world, which has opened 5 centuries ago. In the 15th century (1485), Queen D. Leonor has founded a bathing institution and a thermal hospital, Caldas da Rainha. Legend has it that in 1484, the wife of King D. JoĂŁo II, was travelling to Batalha, and when she passed by the place where the thermal stations would be built, she saw a few poor people bathing in “warm waters pouring through the steaming fountainsâ€?. Curious, she asked them what they were doing there, and they said that they were finding the cure for their illnesses and pain in those healing waters. D. Leonor thus decided to provide better conditions for water users. Thermal Hospital pavilion, built in the end of the 19th century, is a fine example of thermal architecture with its high windows.
Adress: Largo Rainha D. Leonor