WMF Portugal

Established in 1993, WMF Portugal serves as a local representative for WMF, assisting with project management and outreach.

The Tower of Belém, one of WMF's most emblematic projects and a Portuguese national symbol, provided the impetus for the establishment of WMF Portugal in 1993. The importance of the site as a cultural icon made it an ideal inaugural project for the affiliate. WMF Portugal’s work at the Tower of Belém irreversibly changed the way stone conservation practice was done in Portugal, defining new methodologies and producing scientific data that was later used as a reference for other projects. The intervention gained international recognition and received the Europa Nostra Prize in 1999.

Over the years, WMF Portugal has continued to focus its efforts on conservation projects that can serve as models for future interventions of the same nature. Thanks to the support of a permanent Scientific Committee, WMF Portugal has published works on every significant project that it has completed, thus contributing to the evolution of conservation practice in Portugal and Europe.

Looking to the future, WMF Portugal is currently considering a series of potential projects with an eye toward geographic, typological, and chronological diversification, as well as the three global challenges to cultural heritage: climate change, mass tourism, and unrepresented heritage.