The Regional Director for Culture stated in Ponta Delgada on Friday that the Azores are a privileged region for being the birthplace of name that made this these islands an archipelago of poets, writers, painter and artists in several cultural areas.

At the public presentation of the Cultural Route – Antero de Quental, carried out at the press room of the Conceição Palace by Luiz Fagundes Duarte, the scientific coordinator of the project “Roteiros Culturais dos Açores –Personalidades (Cultural Routes of the Azores – Personalities), Jorge Paulus Bruno underlines that the creation of products related to the Azorean cultural heritage, allows the Regional Government to invite locals and visitors to take part in the history  of these islands by experiencing it.

The government official stated that the creation of Cultural Routes of the Azores, an ongoing initiative promoted by the Azorean Government, represents a commitment to local communities in the promotion of the places and spaces marked by the Azorean personalities who have built our history, raising the cultural values of their homeland to prominence.

He also stressed that the Cultural Routes of the Azores aims to instil values as a cultural product addressed at locals and visitors, promoting citizenship values among the population.

By providing people, both locals and visitors, with more knowledge on the cultural heritage, the Azorean Government will be simultaneously promoting the revitalisation of cities, villages and places.

Jorge Paulus Bruno explained that the Cultural Route about the poet, philosopher and thinker Antero de Quental is the first of a series of similar projects that will highlight other Azorean personalities, who have brought the Azores across borders, such as Vitorino Nemésio, already at a preparation stage, Manuel de Arriaga, Francisco de Lacerda, Dias de Melo, João Correia Rebelo and Ernesto do Canto.

Moreover, the Regional Director explained that these routes will always include historical notes on the personalities highlighted, suggesting a visit to the houses, streets and places that have been part of their life paths. 

The government official defended the importance of safeguarding and disseminating the Azorean heritage and identity, and defended that the Cultural Routes of the Azores, in addition to being another product in the tourism offer, will bring new development potentialities in the identification of local, social and cultural values.

In this context, the Cultural Route on Antero de Quental allows locals and visitors to discover the memory of this illustrious personality of the Portuguese and European culture steeped in various places in the city of Ponta Delgada, inviting them to revisit this old city that was his birthplace, his refuge and grave.