DAVID MOURÃO FERREIRA LIBRARY

Parque das Nações

The David Mourão-Ferreira Library lends its name from the great poet David Mourão-Ferreira, immortalized by his red pipe and by his love for Lisbon, so often manifested in his poems.

Inaugurated on April 21, 1999, this library was initially conceived to meet the needs of a more adult public, particularly the students. But the constant curiosity of the parish children, who came to peep in “the house of books”, quickly made us rethink its purpose. In 2004 the Library closed for refurbishment and the following year it reopened with a very lively play area and a set of services directed to the community. The children loved it and the parish welcomed its library.

Currently, the Library is a meeting point and a place of diversity, a second home for the locals. It’s a place for mutual learning, where ideas are heard, taken in, and in synergy with the various local institutions are so often transformed into activities or services for everyone. The tea ceremony with all the Portuguese for foreigners course participants, or the school workshops which started a dialogue between the youth from the community with the Madeira Island youth, are but two samples of this vibrant facility.

In fact, the David Mourão Ferreira Library is like a long love poem that never ends and is always dedicated to its community.