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A time travel to a Cabinet of Curiosities from the 18th century

The “Cabinet of Curiosities – An Interpretation” of the University of Coimbra, located in the “Carlos Ribeiro” Room, at “Colégio de Jesus”, brings together more than four thousand pieces in an exhibition that aims to provoke sensations, in children and adults, and it does.

In a “meticulously untidy” room, where there is no organization, captions, guidelines or explanations, and where only changes in light guide us, we are surprised and even uneasy with the enormous and varied collection that includes “rare, shocking, enigmatic and bizarre”: an ant-eater, a suspended cow skeleton, a crocodile on the ceiling, a donkey with six legs, a snake with two heads, a dinosaur bone, shelved butterflies, are just a few of the examples.

What is also impressive is realizing that this collection represents only 1% of the University of Coimbra’s collection, built over the last 250 years, a fact that is due to everything that was “rare, strange, exotic or bizarre” being handed over, until recently, to the University of Coimbra for research and study. In this way, the Cabinet of Curiosities manages to recreate the magical environment and the feeling of what one felt when entering a Cabinet of Curiosities from the 18th century.

In the midst of this “enigmatic and surprising chaos”, the culture of curiosity and creativity prevails: a piece can take us to the most varied interpretations, universes and stories.

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, from 9:00 am to 12:45 am; from 2pm to 5pm.

Contact: 239 242 744.

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Hotel Oslo - Coimbra
Av. Fernão de Magalhães, 25
3000-175 Coimbra, Portugal
Tel. +351 239 829 071
(national landline call)
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