"I’ve arrived at Lisbon, but not at a conclusion."
Book of Disquiet
Casa Fernando Pessoa, Museum of Literature
Casa Fernando Pessoa is a museum of literature located in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. This city on the Atlantic coast is home to Fernando Pessoa, Portugal's best-known international poet.
Creator of the famous "heteronyms", Pessoa published only one book of poems in his lifetime, but left behind almost 30,000 loose papers in a wooden chest that revealed, after his death, what a genius writer he was.
Casa Fernando Pessoa is responsible for promoting and publicising his legacy. Inaugurated in 1993, it presents an exhibition that follows Fernando Pessoa from his childhood to the end of his life. Fernando Pessoa lived in this building for the last 15 years of his life. His memory lives on in this place through personal objects, stories and books.
On a daily basis, Casa Fernando Pessoa’s team receives visitors from all over the world and with very different profiles: students and researchers, young and old, experts in literature or newcomers to poetry.
To you, who are now reading these words, we extend an invitation: visit Lisbon, visit Casa Fernando Pessoa. You'll probably find a poem by Pessoa that seems to have been written just for you.
Fernando Pessoa wrote here, read here, lived here
The current long-term exhibition was inaugurated in 2020, following remodelling work that made the museum more accessible, more sustainable and equipped with a renewed museological narrative, capable of communicating openly with visitors.
The exhibition is centred around three main themes: 1. Fernando Pessoa as a writer, with an emphasis on the creation of the heteronyms; 2. Fernando Pessoa as a reader, through his Private Library; and 3. Fernando Pessoa as a man who lived between 1888 and 1935 and who revolutionised 20th century literature.
In addition to the exhibition, this museum includes a freely accessible library specialising in poetry, a bookshop and an auditorium, where a varied programme is regularly presented not only on Pessoa but also on contemporary poetry and the promotion of reading and writing.
Casa Fernando Pessoa's mission is to promote reflection and debate on the power of literature and the transformative effects of reading.
In 2021, Casa Fernando Pessoa won the prize for Best Portuguese Museum, awarded by the Portuguese Museology Association.
Pessoa's other names
"Heteronimy" is one of the most distinctive features of Pessoa's writing. From an early age, as a child, Fernando Pessoa surrounded himself with a group of imaginary people - "friends and acquaintances" - who were his literary and life companions.
Among the imaginary figures created by Fernando Pessoa, his three heteronyms stand out: Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis and Álvaro de Campos. They have their own biographies and the texts they sign form coherent sets, mainly poems, written in different styles and with different themes. Pessoa wanted them to be read as distinct writers.
Bernardo Soares also stands out, while author of most of the fragments of the famous Book of Disquiet, to whom Pessoa gave the status of semi-heteronym, because he was too similar to himself in personality and therefore less of an "other".
Fernando Pessoa's uniqueness can be seen in what he wrote and signed with his name or with the names of others who he considered to be as real or more real than himself.
The books Pessoa read
Casa Fernando Pessoa's most valuable collection is Pessoa's Private Library. Comprising around 1,200 books, it covers a wide variety of authors and subjects.
Pessoa started building his library as a child, during the years he lived in what is today South Africa, when he was studying at Durban High School. Pessoa was interested in many different subjects: from detective novels to classical poetry, from mechanics to gymnastics and philosophy. Most of them are in English, but there are also books in French, Spanish, Greek, Galician, Latin, Italian and, of course, Portuguese.
In many of these books, Pessoa left notes written in the margins; or even entire poems. Pessoa's documentary estate, which includes his Private Library, was classified as a National Treasure by decree in 2009.
These books have been digitised and can be consulted online since 2010. Here on this website, you can leaf through the books that Pessoa read and annotated, page by page.
Credits
Contents: Casa Fernando Pessoa
Translations to argentinian spanish: Maria João Machado
Concept and design: atelier-do-ver
Production and construction: Taura Media
Casa Fernando Pessoa is managed by EGEAC, the municipal company that promotes culture in Lisbon. EGEAC is responsible for a wide range of museums, monuments, theatres, galleries, a cinema and public space initiatives. Based on a sustainable, diverse and accessible programme, it has established itself as one of Portugal's leading cultural companies.