In a town about 45min away from Porto by bus (covered by our Porto Metro card) is what was the industrial center of Portugal, São João de Medeira. Some/most of the factories that produced textiles are gone, but some remain and these lovely museums continue the history of those that keep us in comfy, and not so comfy, clothing. BONUS - we were the only ones there for the most part at both museums.
Calçado is the Portuguese word for shoes, but the more umbrella term for it; shoe, footwear. shod, shoewear, shoe-making . Sapatos (shoes,heels, footwear, loafers, pumps, shoelaces) refer to the article of clothing more often in speaking. Kinda like the Aves/Pássaro discussion.
Stacey recruited her friend Janet and they had a lovely day enjoying the museums, buildings, food and beverages of the town, while JR stayed in Porto and participated in an Urban Sketchers event.
This bronze of a shoemaker is in the foreground for the building that used to be the hat factory.
The museums are well curated and speak to not only the process but also the tenacity of the people, the horrible conditions in which they worked, and their participation in protests and change. It's what you would anticipate of the time - dangerous chemicals used with no protection, child labor, women's labor during the war(s), not enough pay, etc.
Interesting types of shoes and their history; zoom in to read the text next to them.
Also, the story of someone who sold shoes door-to-door.
This is the sewing machine for shoes; the ones for hats is below with that museum description.
I really enjoyed the creative side of the shoe art. The other image is probably my favorite one as there is a horse in the heel ;)
The building that houses the Shoe Museum also houses the Museum of Arte which we didn't get a chance to peruse. All 3 museums were reasonably priced - €5 for all 3. However, they close at noon and reopen at 14:30, so we had to pass on the art. All the more reason to go back ;)
That being said, there also are several factories there, most notably the pencil factory. You all know we can't pass up a factory tour. The other reason to go back. However, these benches are lining the entry to the museum building as well as in the entryway. We can't wait to go back and see the factory.
This is the section on protests, etc. If that's not your jam, skip ahead ;)
This was one of the reasons why protesting was important. I've made this one pretty big as it was hard to read in smaller version. Slide the button to the right to see it in English.
On to the Hat Museum
This bronze was gorgeous and had the backdrop of the shoe and art museum.
I love, love, love that they used the perimeter of a hat to identify the WC
The machinery was really fun to see. They were really big pieces. Also note the silver/grey lines and dots on the floor. It helps to indicate flow of the exhibits, but the dots also show where there are braille explanations and/or a tactile exhibit.
Lots of visual and tactile opportunities to see the history of the styles of hats. I would love to make a puzzle out of this one.
For the exit/entry to the parking garage, these lovely murals helped define the space.
The town is adorable and we passed this beautiful ironwork window on our way to get a snackie.
All-in-all, a great day trip which we will take again so that we can do the factory tours as they are only open on weekdays.
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