Vista Alegre’s Festivities In Honor Of Our Lady Of Penha De França Classified As Intangible Cultural Heritage

Vista Alegre’s festivities, in Ílhavo, celebrated in honour of Our Lady of Penha de França, have been classified as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Portugal.

By Order of the General Director of Cultural Heritage, the festivities in honour of the Patroness of the Vista Alegre factory were included in the national heritage list, following a proposal submitted by Vista Alegre Atlantis, as the entity responsible for the Vista Alegre Museum.

The celebration is a religious and cultural event that takes place on the first weekend of July, at Vista Alegre’s location, in Ílhavo. Invoking the cult of Our Lady of Penha de França, the festivities are centred in the chapel built in this place in the late 17th century by Bishop Manuel de Moura Manoel. The chapel has been classified as National Heritage.

The religious festivities probably date back to the 18th century, with the celebrations being absorbed by the company, with the establishment, at this site, of the Vista Alegre Porcelain Factory in 1824. The festivities were sponsored by the administration and organized by the employees.

In addition to the religious dimension, the celebration acquired new contours, becoming an important moment of interaction among the employees, the administration, residents of the Vista Alegre quarters and elements of the local community.

As a result of a particular set of historical developments, today the festivities display an unusual character, uniting religious activities such as the procession or the mass to moments of construction and celebration of corporate identity, such as the lunch for retired employees, the traditional games or the hoisting of the Vista Alegre flag.

The classification of this celebration as Intangible Cultural Heritage had been proposed to the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage in December 2014, with the support of the Municipality of Ílhavo, the Parish of São Salvador and the Regional Directorate of Culture from Central Portugal.