This is a first class museum with interesting views of the World Heritage site of the Coa valley. Only one euro on Sunday's we were able to view both the story of the discovery of the rock carvings but also see some small carvings. The museum has some very informative and detailed displays and books available in the shop.
The...
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Parque Arqueologico do Vale de Coa, Vila Nova de Fozcoa
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Parque Arqueologico do Vale de Coa
Rua do Museu, Vila Nova de Fozcoa P-5150-610, Portugal
20 visitor photos
Ranked #1 of 1 attractions in Vila Nova de Fozcoa
8 Reviews
Type: Parks, Monuments/ Statues, Specialty Museums
Owner description:
In the mountains of northeast Portugal, a region of extensive olive groves and where the almond trees blossom in spring (February and March) and the......
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Owner description:
In the mountains of northeast Portugal, a region of extensive olive groves and where the almond trees blossom in spring (February and March) and the vineyards in autumn (September and October) are covered by leaves the colour of fire, there is a tributary of the River Douro with a universally recognised name: Côa. It is so well known due to the expressive art that fills the valley this river has gouged out of the rock. The schist rocks that occupy the valley have been converted into art canvases over thousands of years, being used for engravings that are the legacy of our ancestors’ creative instinct.These open-air panels and the habitats that can be identified date back to the Upper Palaeolithic and they are testimony to the occupation of the land and a vitality and mastery of drawing that have given us a 25,000 year timeline. This long gallery of art provides us a record of the Neolithic period and the Iron Age, then swiftly racing through two thousand years of history to inscribe religious representations, names and dates in the Modern Age and continuing until only a few decades ago.The motifs, which are nearly all engraved, have themes and use techniques and conventions that are common to contemporary works of Western Europe and those that would be discovered in the 19th century in the closed-in environments of caves in France and Cantabria, which would be called great art at the turn of the century. The Côa art emerges in the 20th century, where a daily and seasonal play of light and dark exposes and hides the art in a wonderful sequence of revelation and concealment.The final seventeen kilometres of the Côa valley contain hundreds of Palaeolithic engravings along the river’s banks, extending all the way to the River Douro. This zone has been made into Portugal’s first Archaeological Park. This Park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 2 December 1998. This entire open-air art collection, which buries the old myth of rock art only existing in caves, is exhibited in the Museum through original pieces of movable art, replicas of “rock panels” and interactive zones that use modern digital technology. The art can also be viewed in loco on organised visits to the valley with specialised guides (advance booking required). During the Architecture International Year, the Portuguese Ministry of Culture and the Association of Architects sponsored a tendering procedure with the aim of selecting a project for the construction of the Côa Valley Art and Archaeology Museum. First prize was given to the team coordinated by the architects Pedro Pimentel and Camilo Rebelo, from Porto.
The building and exhibition projects were developed from the original winning proposal. “The evolution of the museum body – whilst metamorphic prosthetic – aims to embed the building into the landscape. Therefore, it is a strong and affirmative gesture but also a subtle intervention, adapted to the topography and in dialogue with the surrounding landscape.” The building is four stories high (roof/Floor 2, Floor 1, Floor 0 and Floor -1) organized in a particular system of vertical and horizontal connections. The roof possesses a parking space and offers a scenic view of the landscape. Two elevators and a staircase directly connect the roof to the museum’s lobby. Floor 0, where the permanent and temporary exhibitions are located, is structured by a ramp/corridor that crosses the entire body of the building. “At the end of the ramp’s first section, stands a connection hub that distributes visitors towards different parts of the Museum.”
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easter ross
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Porto, Portugal
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The 3 ancient rock figures spots of the Parque Arqueológico do Vale de Coa (River Coa valley archaelogical park) are within a 15 minutes car journey from Fozcoa village.
The Pre-historic rock figures spots guided tours are a truly ‘must do’, a great experience and return to the past with amazing figures on rocks made between 20.000 and 10.000 years...
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PortoExplorer has 1 more review of Parque Arqueologico do Vale de Coa
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Reviewed January 25, 2008
Halifax, West Yorkshire
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The museum is set in fabulous countryside about 6 kilometres out of the small town. Very interesting museum, showing photos of the rock art & the story of it's discovery.
There are currently 3 rock art sites available to visit, we were lucky to be able to book one of them for the next day as we were out of...
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Porto, Portugal
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The Park could be more developped, however it's a nice place to visit with beautiful and panoramic views. The attraction of the Park are the three archaeological places near the Coa River where it's possible to admire the ancient paintings on rocks, well showned and explained on guided tours. The tours must be previously booked on the Vale do Coa...
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PortoExplorer has 1 more review of Parque Arqueologico do Vale de Coa
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Reviewed October 22, 2011
Guarda, Portugal
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Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal
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3.5 out of 5, 161 reviewsLast reviewed May 26, 2012
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