Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

The MNAA – Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga is housed at the former Alvor Palace, which once was a Carmelite convent. The museum’s three articulated exhibition areas make use of the old palace, the monastery’s church, and a new building that has been the object of several interventions throughout the 20th century. Since its foundation in 1884, this museum has included a collection of Art from various provenances. The building’s foundations are grounded on a rock mass about 20 meters over the Tagus River. The unevenness of the terrain was balanced through the construction of support walls and stairs. These stairs connect the contemporary Jardim 9 de Abril in the west of the museum to the Avenida 24 de Julho. The garden has a terrace along the main body of the palace and establishes a direct connection with the Lisbon’s port infrastructure. The museum has been expanded several times, first with the integration of the chapel of the Convent of Santo Alberto in the exhibition circuit, with the construction of the new west annex and the expansion of the east wing between 1942 and 1947, making room for the Library, the Auditorium and the Department of Prints. In 1983 and in 1992-94, the museum was remodelled to expand office spaces and improve the visiting conditions.