From Trade to Art: Berardo Museum

If you visit Belem to see the famous abbey and the statue of the explorers, you might as well tour the Berardo Museum; you will find a collection there that is mostly dedicated to contemporary art. It is also possible to view American and European pieces of some famous artists like Duchamp and Magritte… The collection belongs to the Portuguese collector José Manuel Rodrigues Berardo who is the namesake of the museum. We find out that as expected, every collector makes a fortune in the mining sector. Collecting art works was the passion of Berardo. He immigrated to South Africa when he was only 18, and after he mined gold and diamonds there, he expanded his business from banking to different sectors like vinification, fashion, and the hotel business in Portugal. He spent his life collecting, landscaping, and gardening. The Garden of Buddha Heaven in Bambarral and Monte Palaca on Portugal’s Maderia Island in the Atlantic Ocean also belong to the Berardo Foundation.