Vila Franca do Campo Municipal Museum

To rediscover “the first capital of São Miguel”, a Village brimming with stories, hardships and traditions that characterize its people up until today

Having become a Village in 1472, it was the most relevant Azorean settlement of the 15th century, where (the Great) Gonçalo Velho Cabral settled in and built the first magistrateship of S. Miguel as well as the customs for transatlantic ships. Buried in 1522 by an earthquake, Vila Franca do Campo still preserves the shattered memories of the beginning of modern age in Portugal. Vila Franca do Campo Municipal Museum mirrors the culture, identity and livingness of this community that grows gazing at the Islet and hearing viola da terra.

Vila Franca do Campo Municipal Museum branches: Viscondes do Botelho Manor, Pottery Museum, Manuel Jacinto Carvalho Earthenware Kiln, Ribeira da Praia Hydroelectric, Botelho de Gusmão House, São José Milling.

Ox Cart
Wine Barrels (miniature/toy)
Viscounts of Botelho Manor

Featured Parts

This museum has no featured pieces.

Rua Visconde do Botelho (Street)
9680, Vila Franca do Campo
N0 370 43´01.5´´ / W0250 25´ 52.1´´

At the Municipal Museum, visitors will get acquainted with several themes that define and bear witness to the culture of this community, such as the village earthenware, traditional crafts, whaling art, religion and devotion, the production of violas da terra (local guitars), hydraulic mills that were precursors in the development of the Island, archaeological finds, architecture relating to the “Orange Cycle”, among others.

The museum is open from Tuesday to Friday, from 9:00am to 12:30 noon and from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. On Saturdays and Sundays, the museum is open from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. There are guided tours to the Viscounts of Botelho Manor, as well as to the Pottery Museum and the Kiln, for which visitors must book in advance, tel. 296 539 282.

Vila Franca do Campo Municipal Museum is divided into several branches: Viscounts of Botelho Manor (called Comando/ “Command”), Botelho de Gusmão House (currently unavailable to visitors), Master António Barata Pottery Museum, Manuel Jacinto de Carvalho Earthenware Kiln, Água d’Alto Hydroelectric Power Plant, São José Milling.
Free entry.
Tour in English is available.

Tel: (+351) 296 539 282
https://www.cmvfc.pt/servicos/museu-municipal/museuvfc@cmvfc.pt