The Casa das Bengalas de Gestaçô is a nucleus of arts and crafts created with the purpose of preserving the historical memory of an office with long decades of tradition in the parish and in the county, socially valuing the activity and creating a space for exhibition, demonstration and commercialization of flares.
In this space is exposed a collection of umbrellas and various objects that allow the visitor to see the different steps of the handmade execution of the cane. Here is also portrayed the history of the Bengal of Gestaçô and of the artisans who dedicated themselves to the craft;
The first workshops of flares appeared in Gestaçô at the end of the century. XIX. The great driver of the craft was then Alexandre Pinto Ribeiro, who in 1902 installed his workshop there.
Alexandre Pinto Ribeiro revolutionized the whole process of designing and producing walking sticks and umbrella cables, introducing a small innovation: the technique of folding. This technique consists in folding the ends of the strips of softened wood into boiling water with the aid of a metal bar, which allows greater savings in terms of raw material and obtaining a higher quality walking stick. As a result of this technological advance, Gestaçô became a regional reference, both in the production of the cane and the hand of umbrella, increasing the number of orders from Porto, São João da Madeira and Braga.
Allied with the technique, creativity emerged that allowed the use of many original motifs and designs that make each cane a unique piece. Animal heads, polished cherry, mother-of-pearl inlays, silver or gold, are some examples used by artisans' hands. Over time, the cane was no longer part of the men's clothing and the umbrella hands began to be produced in plastic, which caused the closing of many workshops of flares in Gestaçô.
The generalization of the Queima das Fitas at the national level brought a new breath to the craft: every year around 30 thousand university students give bengalas with walking sticks produced in the artisanal workshops of Gestaçô.
Opening time:
Tuesday to Friday: 9 am - 1 pm and 2 pm - 5 pm
Saturday: from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Sunday and Monday: Closed (advance notice / appointment)