Palácio Vila Flor - Guimarães

The palace was built in the 18th century by order of the nobleman Tadeu Luís António Lopes de Carvalho de Fonseca e Camões and was the site of the festivities celebrating the inauguration of King José I in 1750. The palace later passed into the hands of the Jordão family, who completed the work begun by Tadeu Luís.

In 1884 , the "First Industrial and Commercial Exhibition of Guimarães" took place in the Vila Flor Palace. This exhibition was a remarkable event and a demonstration of the economic vitality of the city , at a time when Guimarães was beginning to build its future.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the building was bought by the Jordão family from Guimarães, who completed the construction of the northern wing of the palace.

In 1976, the palace was already in disrepair and was acquired by the Guimarães City Council to house the first Guimarães Centre of the University of Minho's Faculty of Engineering. In the meantime, the University of Minho occupied the new building of the University Campus in Guimarães at the Azurém Campus and the palace was temporarily closed.

In the first decade of the 2000s, the Guimarães City Council decided to completely restore the Vila Flor Palace and its gardens , incorporating into the new project a Cultural Centre of the same name.

Willem Vandenameele