Museu da Horta

The Museu da Horta occupies the old Colégio dos Jesuítas, an eighteenth-century building in the centre of Horta on the island of Faial. As one of the Azores’ regional museums, it gathers history, ethnography and maritime heritage, including the story of the submarine telegraph cables that once made Horta a hub of transatlantic communications.

A museum of the Atlantic

The museum was created in 1977 and installed in the former Jesuit college beside the church of the Santíssimo Salvador. Its collections cover the history of the islands, traditional crafts and technologies, sacred art and the port of Horta, which served as a vital stop for ships crossing the Atlantic.

What to see

• Objects linked to the port of Horta and the submarine cable stations that operated here.
• Ethnography, traditional crafts and the technologies of linen, wool and ceramics.
• A collection of objects carved in fig pith, unique in the world.
• Sacred art, paintings, photographs and historical documents.

Visiting the museum

The museum is at Palácio do Colégio, Largo Duque d’Ávila e Bolama, 9900-141 Horta. It is open Tuesday to Sunday and closed on Mondays; hours vary between summer and winter, so check the official website before your visit.

Visitor information: museu-horta.azores.gov.pt.

Image credit: Museu da Horta, Faial, by José Luís Ávila Silveira / Pedro Noronha Costa, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.