Aeminium was an important trading outpost, the residence of the monarchs D. Henrique and D. Teresa, the birthplace of the first king of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques, and, finally, town of the university and knowledge. The ancient Aeminium has left traces in the present. One of them is the roman cryptoportico in the Machado de Castro Museum.
The oldest traces date back to the roman era of Aeminium, when those people founded the city, in collaboration and always protected by the neighbour Conimbriga, just 16 miles away, in the town of Condeixa-a-Nova.
However, when the Suevi sacked and destroyed Conimbriga, in 465 and 468 a.C., its inhabitants fled to Aeminium, increasing the local population and helping the city to prosper and grow.
Ruins of Conimbriga and Monographic Museum
Stay in Coimbra and visit Conimbriga
That was one of the largest roman settlements in Portugal and left traces and a legacy that today can be leveraged to better know the history of the country and the region. In addition to the fact that Conimbriga archaeological station it’s the better studied station in the country, is also considered a national monument.
It’s also at Conimbriga, where the Monographic Museum is situated, that are exposed many of historical objects found in archaeological excavations that took place at the ancient roman city. The process of excavations began in 1898 and developed almost in a continuous way until the present.
The museum was established in the year 1962. Currently, this is an area exclusively dedicated to the ancient roman town, with a diverse collection, which tells the history of that ancient civilization, between the end of the second millennium before Christ and the 6th century of the christian era. As you can see, there is much to know at Conimbriga, but there are still areas to explore in the area of the ruins and so much to learn, a mission that remains in charge of the museum and its research and restoration section.
Roman cryptoportico and Machado de Castro Museum
The hostel is minutes away from Machado de Castro Museum
And because it’s not only at Conimbriga that there are vestiges of the past, you can also get to know the history of Coimbra, the ancient Aeminium. The best way to do that is visiting the Machado de Castro Museum, located in the upper part of the city, close to the University, and which is open to the public since 1913, when the city gave the space to culture. In 1965, the museum, named after de Machado de Castro in honour of Joaquim Machado de Castro, one of the greatest figures in the history of portuguese sculpture, was elevated to the category of National Museum.
The most important of these traces is the cryptoportico, a gallery of tunnels with several arches on top, built to withstand the Roman Forum of ancient Aeminium. During the middle ages, the palace of a member of the clergy was built on the Forum, a building that currently houses the Machado de Castro Museum and that hides the cryptoportico, which can be visited at the museum.
The artificial platform that supported the structure remained unchanged until the present and allows, for the first time in history, the public to have full access to the Forum, an experience that can be enriched by recent discoveries.
In addition to the roman ruins, the museum has much more to show, from archaeology to jewellery, passing by sculpture, painting or ceramics. Machado de Castro devotes space to research projects and conservation of works of art and archaeological remains, as well as to restoration.
