main
President
Regional Government
Citizen Space
Business Space
About Azores
  news Legislation Schedule Communities Contacts Portal Map Links Help
Versão PortuguesaMUDAR LÍNGUA
See in: entities  
 

Presidency of the Government
Vice-Presidency of the Government, Employment and Business Competitiveness
Regional Secretariat for Social Solidarity
Regional Secretariat for Education and Culture
Regional Secretariat for the Sea, Science and Technology
Regional Secretariat for Transport and Public Works
Regional Secretariat for Health
Regional Secretariat for Energy, Environment and Tourism
Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry

 
Media
      

Get News of the Government by RSS - click here
Know more about RSS ...

 

Angra do Heroísmo ,  July 11, 2008

cannon

Manuelino* cannon in exhibition in the Angra Museum

The Angra do Heroísmo Museum exposes, at present, in its room of distinctions, a cannon from the time of D. Manuel I which was recovered from the bay of Angra, in the year of 1893 and sent to Lisbon in this date.
 
The piece, pertaining to Lisbon’s Military Museum, was recently deposited in the Angra Museum, being now presented as part of the Angra exhibition: “Escala do Mar Atlântico - Argumentos do Património Mundial” (Port of Call of the Atlantic Sea – Arguments of World Heritage).
 
Due to its historical relevance, the piece will be then integrated in that museum’s long term exhibition, entitled “Do Mar e da Terra... Uma história no Atlântico” (From the Sea and the Land... A story in the Atlantic), which is in phase of requalification.
 
This rare cannon presents the national arms, the armillary sphere and an acronym of the founder (who is thought to be Sebastião Cobris, worker in Lisbon’s arsenals around 1514). This small bronze cannon was widely used between the ends of the century XV and the beginnings of XVIII for the defence against approaches, installed in the main rails of the ships, though it had also been used in fortifications.
 
The most correct technical designation for this weapon is “cradle”, being, however, known in Spain by “berso” or “verso” and in France and in Flanders by “berche” or “barce”. Another designation, also of French origin, is “falconete”.
 
The obligation of its use on board of the vessels of the Portuguese crown between the centuries XV and XVIII leads us thinking that there would have been fused in Lisbon, Kochi and Goa thousands of pieces of this type. However, the fragility of its oblong shape and the recycling of the bronze after a reduced number of shots were the responsible factors for which few examples got to our days.
 
The presence of this piece in the Angra do Heroísmo Museum gets special meaning, just when it is being commemorated the 25th anniversary of the inclusion of the city of Angra in the List of the Humanity’s Heritage Assets of UNESCO, because of having been recovered in the bay of Angra and, consequently, that proves the important role fulfilled by the city in the connection between the old European world and the new oriental and western worlds.
 
The cannon can be seen in Angra Museum from Tuesday to Friday, from 09.30 to 17.00 o’clock and on weekends from 14 to 17 o’clock.
 

 

* Reference to the architectural style of Portugal developed under the reign of D. Manuel I.


GaCS/JMB/MAH
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

Official government press-releases presented in all foreign languages interfaces of the Azorean Government Portal (Portal do Governo dos Açores) are a sub-set of the government's official press-releases daily output and are chosen for translation and publication on the foreign language interfaces based on audience segmentation criteria. The entire collection of the Azorean government press-releases is available in portuguese, here, from the GACS Press Office site.

 
   Print   Send Send News   GaCS GaCS Site   Regional Press Regional Press   rss  
     

Last News

Search
 
Where?
Advanced Search >>
 
 



 
 

This e-mail address is at your disposal for you to place your questions to the Regional Government of the Azores.
Ask the Government!

 

Health Ombudsman
  
Listen to this Page LISTEN
Go to top of page TOP
help HELP
Versão PortuguesaMUDAR LÍNGUA

 
Símbol of Acessibilidade on Web
main | President | Regional Government | Citizen Space | Business Space | About Azores | My Site