The Frederico de Freitas Museum is in part the great legacy of the man to whom the museum inherits its name: Frederico Augusto da Cunha Freitas. The museum is housed in the eighteenth century former residence of the the venerable collector who practised law in his day. It is also right opposite the Sao Pedro parish church.
Opened up only as recently as 1988 to the general public the museum was an instant success. In particular since It has an awesome collection of decorative tiles from Turkish, Moorish/North African, and Hispano/Moorish origin. The largest and most in-depth of its kind anywhere in the world.
What started out as a simple hobby by the respected solicitor turned out to be a very impressive collection of Madeiran artefacts which started out with the proto-tile and continued on to up to about the late 1920's.
There are many fine art exhibits, including an array of art by Portuguese and German artists from the XIII to the XVIII century. A wide variety of ceramic and porcelain pieces, religious sculptures, ancient sacred paintings, a collection of approximately 2000 mugs, trophies and vases, and an impressive collection of hand carven metal and wooden sculptures of Chinese and north-African origin are also on display.
The museum is well-known amongst the locals as the Casa da Calcada. It is regularly visited by students and antique or artefacts enthusiasts who come to admire the work of a true hobbyist who spent at least thirty years of his life acquiring and accumulating such a vivid and interesting collection.
Дом-музей объединяет коллекцию произведений искусства Фридриха де Фрейтаса (1894-1978), адвоката и нотариуса из Мадейры, который жил в этом доме в течение нескольких десятилетий и завещал свое имение автономному району Мадейра.
Нынешнее здание берет свое начало в резиденции графовCondes da Calçada и их предков (так называемый Casa da Calçada), начиная с конца 17-го века. Дом должен был быть реконструирован в 19 веке. Около 1941 года дом арендовал Фредерико де Фрейтас, юрист и нотариус земли, который прожил там почти сорок лет, вплоть до своей смерти в 1978 году. Фрейтас был великим коллекционером декоративного искусства и завещал автономный район Мадейры.
