ABSTRACT
Sited in the old ‘La Rose’ and ‘Feu Hermanos’ fish cannery factory, the Museum of Portimão overlooks the small harbour and the ruined São Francisco monastery. The canning factory that became the museum was purchased by the municipality in 1996 and the modern museum we see today was opened in 2008. The Museum of Portimão has successfully increased awareness of cultural identity in a region very much dominated by mass tourism and has restored the industrial/historical heritage of the Portimão area. It has become a place where social capital is built between people and communities in an area where many traditional places of meetings have disappeared.
