Historical Archive

The Historical Archive of Misericórdia de Lisboa is responsible for coordinating and ensuring the operation and safekeeping of the institution’s permanent and intermediate archives, which are made up essentially of documents produced and received by the institution. It is also responsible for organising the Rare Books library. Its remit is to gather, organise, describe, preserve, disseminate and make available Santa Casa’s documentary holdings and historical library.

The archive receives bodies of documents accumulated by the institution’s various services, carrying out their appraisal and selection, in accordance with Ordinance 6/2017 (of 4 January), and coordinates the process of disposing of documents without secondary or historical value, based on the principles set out in legislation.

With the great earthquake of 1755 and the violent fire that followed, much of Misericórdia de Lisboa’s heritage and documentation was destroyed. For this reason, the Historical Archive mainly holds documents from the mid-18th century to the present day.

The institution’s historical documentation, kept on around six linear kilometres of shelving, consists mostly of paper documents, parchments, photographs and sound recordings.

The Historical Archive also ensures the safekeeping and technical handling of Santa Casa’s Rare Books collection (15th to 18th centuries), made up of an important set of works printed in Portuguese and foreign workshops, totalling around 5,000 titles, originating from the former libraries of Misericórdia de Lisboa, the Convento de São Pedro de Alcântara or the House of the Marquises of Alegrete. This bibliographic collection is catalogued; the set of works containing musical texts (manuscript and printed) has been the subject of a dedicated catalogue.

The reproduction of documents is subject to restrictions, taking into account the type of documents, their state of preservation or the intended purpose, as well as the legislation in force.

The staff member on duty in the reading room may, on request, support users by providing search guidance, information on the documentation and the finding aids available, and assisting with the palaeographic reading of documents. Internet access points are available for research purposes.

Guided tours are only available by prior appointment.

• SC: Constituição, organização e regulamentação (CR)
• SC: Órgãos da Administração (OA)
• SC: Gestão Administrativa (GA)
• SC: Gestão Financeira (GF)
• SC: Gestão Patrimonial (GP)
• SC: Gestão de Recursos Humanos (GRH)
• SC: Igreja (IG)
• SC: Assistência Pecuniária (AP)
• SC: Assistência Médica (AM)
• SC: Assistência Social (AS)
• SC: Assistência Infantil (AI)
• SC: Criação dos Expostos (CE)
• SC: Recolhimento das Órfãs / Instituto de São Pedro de Alcântara (RO)
• SC: Lar do Amparo (LA)
• SC: Lotaria (LOT)

In addition to the documents that make up the Misericórdia de Lisboa fonds, there are also documents relating to entities (institutions or facilities) that were integrated into the institution, forming separate documentary fonds:

• F: Associação das Creches-Asilos de Lisboa (ACAL)
• F: Colégio Araújo (CA)
• F: Comissão de Ação Social dos Bairros Municipais (CASBM)
• F: Cozinhas Económicas e Sopa dos Pobres (CESP)
• F: Escola Maternal da Ajuda (EMA)
• F: Escola Maternal do Alto do Pina (EMAP)
• F: Internato Infantil Dr. Afonso Costa (IIAC)
• F: Orfanato-Escola Santa Isabel (OESI)
• F: Internato Infantil da Parede (INP)
• F: Primeiro Semi-Internato (1SI)
• F: Segundo Semi-Internato (2SI)
• F: Pensionato da Rua da Rosa (PRR)
• F: Recolhimento de Nossa Senhora do Amparo (RNSA)
• F: Casa Professa de São Roque de Lisboa (CPSRL)
• F: Arquivo Familiar Benito Maçãs (AFBM)
• F: Arquivo João Rodrigues Alves (AJRA)
• F: Arquivo Corrêa de Sá (ACS)
• F: Associação Protetora da Infância Desvalida e dos Pobres do Lumiar (APIDPL)
• F: Albergue de Mendicidade da Mitra (AMM)
• F: Companhia Portuguesa de Seguro de Vida de Animais (CPSVA)