Exhibition rooms

First comes flour. Then the water. Salt. Yeast. Putting in wisdom and heart, hands that knead time and again, the dough that rises and takes shape, history and memories.

Bread History Room

After 2 million years of moving around the land and feeding on what he hunted and gathered in the wild, Man began to sow seeds in the soil and practicing agriculture. This simple gesture brought a profound transformation in his way of life: Man settled in the territory, developed new techniques, adopted a new diet and created other forms of social relationships.

The History of Bread room goes back 12,000 years and invites on a journey through various periods in the history of Bread in Portugal and the world, in a narrative expressed in documents and objects from the Middle Ages, through periods of history such as the Renaissance, Liberalism, the First Republic and the Estado Novo (Dictatorship) in Portugal, to the present day, where topics such as Ukraine, the “Breademia” and the Seed Bank are covered.

In this room, the periods of history are divided by color to make them easier to understand, and in addition to documentation, objects, images and videos, you’ll find an explanation that frames the relevance of bread in each era in its political and social context.

the bread cycle

The Bread Cycle room recreates the traditional cycle of Portuguese bread in its historical context, through 14 illustrated panels. There are also implements and utensils that attest to the fact that making bread was originally a handcrafting process.

The baker’s baskets, the pastry bicycle that distributed the bread, the scales, the sayings, and the recitations of the past side by side with the different cereals you are invited to touch, so you can experience their texture. In this room, the mills that are constantly at work make the magical sound of times gone by, reminding us of a past still so close at hand.

art of bread

Art has been marked by its inspiration in bread as an expression of ideas, emotions, and world views. Among a collection of objects made of tile, silver, ceramic, glass, and wood, highlights also include stamps, iconography, post cards, and sacred art always connected with bread in a centuries-old tradition. And painting, by the paintbrush of Velhô, the Portuguese painter whose colour and stroke restore to the land its poetry. This room also hosts the museum’s temporary exhibitions. Find out more about them here.

the wonderful world
of the hermians

Time to get your hands dirty—literally!

This themed space is especially dedicated to younger visitors; an educational room that ends up charming young and old alike! Here, the gnomes of the tribe of the Hermians, the protectors of the first inhabitants of the Herminian mountain range, beckon to take an imaginary mythical journey to the past of bread, full of movement, light, colour, and fantasy.

A space where history and legend intersect, where bread passes before our eyes and through our hands. At the end of the visit, it’s time to get hands dirty and make your own bread, which is baked in the oven; then, you can take this little bit of magic home.