Almourol as a Contemporary Sculpture Park

The park brings together the most representative names in contemporary Portuguese sculpture, spanning work developed from the 1960s through to the present day. The eleven large-scale sculptures were created by artists from several generations, all Portuguese, and the project was developed in partnership with the Fundação EDP and co-financed by European Community funds. The artists are Alberto Carneiro, Ângela Ferreira, Carlos Nogueira, Cristina Ataíde, Fernanda Fragateiro, Joana Vasconcelos, José Pedro Croft, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Rui Chafes, Xana, and Zulmiro de Carvalho. Each sculpture engages meaningfully with its riverside setting. Carlos Nogueira's Casa quadrada com árvore dentro features a box representing the simplest form of human shelter, with references to Tagus floods and stilt houses, while a tree growing inside symbolizes the force of nature. Cristina Ataíde's Rotter is inspired by a wicker fishing trap traditionally used in the Algarve, transformed in scale and material to create a space of childhood entertainment. Fernanda Fragateiro's Concrete Poem is a large set of benches fully integrated into the garden, inviting rest and social interaction. Joana Vasconcelos contributed Trianons, evoking the small summer pavilions of absolutist aristocracy. José Pedro Croft's untitled work consists of four steel mirrors arranged to capture the rhythms of nature, turning the garden into a stage where visitors become the performers. Pedro Cabrita Reis's Castelo is a representation of the idea of a tower or castle as a memorial landmark — a three-meter-tall piece made from the finest granite. Rui Chafes contributed Contramundo, a sculpture in black-painted iron that hides among the trees like the shell of a lost life or a threatening creature. Zulmiro de Carvalho's Linha da Terra e do Rio rises like a giant pedestal before tapering into a delicate arm suspended in unstable balance above the ground. Finally, Xana's Casa no céu is a prefabricated house built from industrial storage boxes, functioning simultaneously as a utopian model for low-cost housing and as a playful public object.