The city council of Valença wants to buy for more than 1.6 million euros an old Portuguese school that was closed five years ago to place the city’s “bookplate” “at the service of society” in social and cultural areas, it was revealed today.
“This is a landmark property for Walesa. The restoration of the old Portuguese College and its environs is the responsibility of Valenca and the Valencians and will allow us to once again put this “bookplate” at the service of our community in the social and cultural spheres, providing the city with a new central place with the qualification of urban space,” said Mayor José Manuel Carpinteira, quoted in a note sent to the newsrooms.
The proposal to acquire the property, which until September 2016 functioned as the headquarters of the Escola Superior de Ciências Empresariais (ESCE) of the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC), was unanimously approved at the last meeting of the municipal executive.
With the move of ESCE to a new building opened in February 2017 by the President of the Republic, the property of the former Portuguese College is “no longer in use”.
Following the approval at last Wednesday’s meeting of the municipal executive of the expression of interest in acquiring the building, “Camara de Valensa will formalize the offer of Santa Casa da Misericordia.”
The building of the former Portuguese College “was born at the behest of the honored Valencian Joaquim Apolinario da Fonseca, with great commitment to the social and economic life of the county, who left Santa Casa da Misericordia de Valença funds for the construction of Asilo Fonseca, an orphanage for disadvantaged children.”
The building “began construction in 1910, but was inaugurated only in 1928”, and “at that time Santa Casa da Misericordia signed a loan agreement with the Congregation of the Franciscan Hospital Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, who remained in the property until until 1974, with the designation Colégio Português”.
Subsequently, it functioned as a lyceum, Casa da Cultura, high school, municipal library and finally the headquarters of ESCE.
“The hexagonal estate with an extensive and unique volume of construction, including the domed tower and the chapel of Nossa Señora de Fatima, stands out for its splendor for all who circulate the central avenues of Valencia.”
