A land is worth for its geography, its history, its natural and heritage resources, but above all for its people. Shaped by the territory and collective memory, Figueirans also have their own identity: each community, each parish, sometimes even each street, has its own particularity. The people of the Gândaras are different from the fishing people and the rice fields of the south bank or those of the city, but all, those who were born here, those who live here, are Figueira da Foz and all have this pride and a shared memory.
If you’re a visitor and want to get to know the place better, it’s not enough to know the beaches, the landscapes and the ancient stones, you have to get to know the people who welcome you. And the people of Figueiredo have a long and rich history that is well worth knowing. It is this collective memory, this intangible heritage, that the Municipality has been diligently preserving. And spreading the word.
International Archives Day will thus be marked on June 9, under the motto “who we were, what we did and what we are”, with two initiatives open to all: The Open Day at the Archiveswith guided tours of the Photographic and Historical Archives, subject to prior registration (arqfoto@cm-figfoz.pt and arquivo.historico@cm-figfoz.pt); and a Public session to present the “Nós, Figueirenses” platform, which is part of the project “We, the Portuguese“, at 15:00 in the Image Barracks.
The new online presence will “provide information from the 17th to the 20th century (1910), compiled in the parish registers of São Julião. It is presented as a research and information tool, which aims to “define” the profile of figueirenses, their origin, profession, economic and social contributions to the growth of the city”..
According to a note from Figueira da Foz City Hall, “given the number of records to be processed, the platform, which is accessible from the municipality’s website, under the Culture tab, will be constantly updated, and it is expected that by 2024 all the information will be processed and inserted. The platform could, in the medium/long term, extend the time period, but this would require other sources of information, such as civil registers”.. In short, a repository under construction that allows us to better penetrate the “soul of Figueirense” and the path that brought us here.
The “Nós, Portugueses” project is promoted by the Guarda-Mor publishing house, in partnership with the Association of Friends of Torre do Tombo and the Directorate-General for Archives, the entity that oversees the National Archives of Torre do Tombo and almost all Portuguese District Archives.
