Francisco de Lacerda Museum: From Ethnography to Music, in a Former Cannery

Few island museums manage to bring together, under one roof, an island’s ethnography, its canning industry, and the work of a conductor who led orchestras in Paris. The Francisco de Lacerda Museum, in Calheta, São Jorge, is one of those rare cases.

From ethnographic house to regional museum

The Regional Secretariat for Education and Culture acquired the museum’s first building in 1984, to house the São Jorge Ethnographic House, opened in 1991. Since 2008, the museum has taken its name from musicologist, composer, and conductor Francisco de Lacerda, born in the parish of Ribeira Seca.

New premises in a former factory

In 2020, the museum moved into the ruins of the former Marie d’Anjou cannery, by the Calheta harbour. The new building significantly expanded the museum’s scope, adding sections dedicated to the history of São Jorge Island, Azorean music, and the canning industry that also shaped the local economy.

Who was Francisco de Lacerda

Born in 1869, Francisco de Lacerda settled in Paris in the late 19th century, where he studied under Charles Widor and Vincent d’Indy, whom he succeeded as head of the Orchestra class at the Paris Conservatory. He moved in the circle of the so-called French school, alongside names like Gabriel Fauré and Claude Debussy, with whom he was personally acquainted, gaining international recognition as conductor of the Schola Cantorum.

The museum’s collections

The ethnographic collections, mostly from the 19th and 20th centuries, include regional pottery, textiles and weaving, farming tools, and furniture. The music section holds instruments, scores, and documents connected to Francisco de Lacerda and the island’s philharmonic bands.

Planning your visit

• Location: Rua José Azevedo da Cunha, by the Calheta harbour.
• Summer hours (April to September): Tuesday to Friday, 10am–5:30pm; weekends and holidays, 12pm–5:30pm.
• Winter hours (October to March): Tuesday to Friday, 9:30am–5pm; weekends and holidays, 12pm–5pm.

Nearby highlights

Take the chance to visit the Church of Santa Bárbara, in Manadas, one of the finest examples of Azorean Baroque woodwork.

After the museum, keep exploring Calheta and head to Fajã do Ouvidor, on the island’s north coast, to round off the day with some volcanic scenery.

Learn more about traditional crafts in the Azores.

Featured image — Photo: Agomes18 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0