Casa Goeldi will be rebuilt as a space dedicated to science, culture, and Amazonian knowledge
The project is a partnership between the Government of Pará, Museu Goeldi, and the Swiss Embassy in Brazil, and was formalized on the morning of this Monday (10)
Located in the Zoobotanical Park of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, in Belém, Casa Goeldi will be restored and transformed into a space focused on research, education, and the appreciation of traditional Amazonian knowledge. The initiative is the result of a partnership between the Government of Pará, through the State Secretariat of Culture (Secult), the Swiss Embassy in Brazil, and the museum itself.
The Technical Cooperation Agreement (ACT), which formalizes the partnership, was signed on the morning of this Monday (10) by the State Secretary of Culture, Ursula Vidal, during a ceremony held at Museu Goeldi, in Belém.
The secretary highlighted the efforts of the Government of Pará to preserve memory and research while investing in building a more sustainable future.
'City of Belém has great historical heritage,' says Secretary of Culture
Ursula Vidal highlighted the investments that return to the local society and contribute to the world more broadly. She recalled that, like other historic cities, Belém still holds a vast heritage that deserves the same careful attention.
“Belém is a city that will complete 410 years in 2026, and, like São Luís do Maranhão, we still have a protected polygon with over two thousand properties. Many of them can have new uses that spark public interest, such as strengthening the creative economy, educational processes, and historical heritage, among others,” emphasized Ursula Vidal.
For the head of Secult, in addition to strengthening science, the reconstruction should restore part of the museum's history and the imagination of the people of Pará, both those who grew up and those who will still grow with the space present in the collective memory. The project, according to her, brings together different people, institutions, and visions, reflecting the very diversity of the Amazon.
*Region concentrates great biodiversity and knowledge*
“This biodiversity needs to be an asset in terms of identity because it constitutes us as an Amazonian people. We are a people that understands the times of rain, tides, and rivers; that coexists with the fauna and flora. It is this diverse Amazon that teaches us to live in difference, and it is this difference that builds the future,” she reinforced.
In addition to the support from the Government of Pará, through Secult, the project is developed by the Swiss office Herzog & de Meuron, in collaboration with the Instituto Pedra, and has the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Swiss institutions EBP, Ameropa Foundation, MSC Foundation, and UBS. The Instituto Peabiru is in charge of managing and implementing the initiative, continuing an existing partnership with the museum.
Text by Maycon Marte
