Historic Portuguese mansion an oasis of calm in colourful India

(16 Jul 2017) LEADIN
A 425 year old Portuguese mansion in India has opened its door to visitors to offer a glimpse of its colonial history.
The much-loved home of Goa's Figeuiredo family is not only a repository of memories but a treasure trove of antique furniture and precious artifacts dating back to 17th century.
The Figueiredo mansion is now part museum and part homestay and the family hopes to keep its legacy alive in the years to come.
STORYLINE
Unlike the Goa of popular imagination - of sandy beaches and liquor shacks - Loutolim in South Goa is a quaint village surrounded by paddy fields.
Goa was a Potuguese colony until 1961 and a part of that history is visible in the Indo-European architecture of the village homes and mansions.
This is where the Figueiredo family made its home in 1590. A second part of the house was constructed 200 years later.
Age sits lightly on the sprawling, 4-centuries-old Figueiredo Mansion.
It has been lovingly preserved by the family, whose members were Portuguese diplomats, lawyers and parliamentarians.
About an hour's drive from Goa's airport, a rundown, roadside sign reads "Casa Museu V.J. De Figueiredo Loutolim" to let visitors know they've reached their destination.
A musty smell of history, memories and magnificent wooden furniture pervades the arcaded corridors with rooms on both sides.
Three generations of the Figueiredo family live in the house, each with their own connection to the priceless legacy.
Maria de Fatima Figueiredo de Alburquerque, known as Fatima, was born in this house but grew up in Portugal.
Two years ago, she left her job as an international executive and came back to Goa to help her mother - the current owner - take care of the house.
One wing of the house with rooms full of elaborate carved furniture, Belgian crystal chandeliers, Chinese porcelain pieces, art and family heirlooms has been turned into a museum.
Every artifact in the mansion has its own story, and Fatima's narrative helps in bringing some of that composite culture alive for the guests.
"This is the ballroom and all the furniture is made in Goa, by Goans, and by Hindus, Muslims and Catholics. And normally the Hindus they used to put something of their God or Goddesses or their mythology and here we see that this for sure is made by Hindus," Fatima says as she points to the figure of a Hindu God carved in the wooden chair.
The family prayer room is dedicated to the mother of Virgin Mary.
The 200 year old private chapel is paved with a mosaic of Portuguese tiles.
Nearby is an antique chest of drawers made of ivory, metal, rosewood and teak with images of lions carved into the base.
"This is the only one that exists with the four lions and also in this size. There are some around the world and there is one in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London but smaller than this one," she says.
The elegant décor of the dining room is laid out on the expansive solid teak wood floor.
Navigating through the lavish room, she points to another family treasure - a 200-year old, 60-piece crockery set made specially for the family by the East India Company.
"This is unique in the world with this design and colours. And it is in the family more than 200 years," says Fatima.
Her mother, 87-year old Maria de Lourdes Figueiredo de Albuquerque is the owner of the mansion and the guiding spirit behind the effort to preserve the family heritage.
Maria grew up in the mansion along with her sister when the family was based in the west Indian state.
Taking care of the stock of family possessions is a daunting task, says Fatima.
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[@janicedcunha9092]

Congrats to this family for preserving rich heritage which no money can buy. The generosity of this family has to be admired for permitting tourists to view goan and Portuguese culture. Bravo!!!!!

[@sunil-mq4zx]

Goan people best in the world 😍 love from mangalore Karnataka 😍

[@JerinGeorge]

As an Indian. I've always admired the Portugese culture...

[@Alfablue227]

Such stupidity on above comments!! Respect others!!! . Thank you for admiring my culture. Our actions of the past were wrong, but no different from other powers. I hope Goans win this fight to preserve your beautiful, different Portuguese culture. Remember, that is what makes you unique. Much love from Portugal 🇵🇹

[@cg8397]

@@Alfablue227 I don't know about the rest of the Empire, but the Portuguese treated the Goans well when compared to Goa's previous rulers. You can read about it here: www.bertrand.pt/livro/conquistadores-roger-crowley/17436482 Again, Portuguese people have no reason to be ashamed.

[@ledeyabaklykova]

I am certain the admiration is mutual.

[@cmarq817]

Um perfeito exemplo da lindíssima cultura indo-portuguesa

[@avijitsengupta7085]

Splendid....I wish the worthy successors who preserved this wonderful mansion for so many years .....

[@abhinavnaithani7344]

Loved the old lady ,who responsibly carried forward her legacy🙏🙏

[@Alfablue227]

Goa é uma paixão...love it!

[@TheSabugosa]

Portugal is amazing and Goa is a portuguese heaven in India.

[@joaoteixeira7410]

@A P goa can be indian geografically but fisicalyy is portuguese.

[@zurdddtk3025]

@@joaoteixeira7410 India is a diverse country so they are indian in all prospectives

[@cg8397]

@@zurdddtk3025That's not true else Indians from other states would stop harassing Goans to be like them, even when Goans are in Goa

[@zurdddtk3025]

@@cg8397 what

[@rickserrao8538]

@@zurdddtk3025 you wont understand 😂

[@Cae70]

Lindo lugar! Parabéns por preservarem a memória da família!

[@ruiddd956]

Goa portuguesa com orgulho plurissecular. 500 anos... Mais antiga a presença portuguesa na Índia que muitos países, como os EUA... A própria Espanha apenas surge em 1512, já os portugueses estavam na Índia desde 1498.

[@albertpereira4347]

Portuguese stuff are eye catching 👑n Goa is mini Portugal

[@Fabymf4]

I'm Figueiredo from Brazil. The beautiful Maison

[@josehelioramos6538]

Ainda irei conhecer esse belo lugar. Desde Sao Paulo , Brasil Em 2020.

[@filipasales9291]

Que casa maravilhosa ❤. Obrigada desde Portugal por preservarem o vosso património ❤.

[@brendadias8474]

Beautiful, I hope this heritage house is preserved for long. Beware of land sharks 🦈 🤔 🦈

[@matinalarsson4149]

Greetings from Sweden 🎄🌟

[@tattianasalles3019]

My grandma's surname is Figueiredo. But we are from Brazil not India. My grandma's father was portuguese.

[@traveljunkieleonardo3679]

We have Portuguése surnames in Goa because we were converted to Christianity and most of us do have Portuguése ancestry

[@Thru_Mind_I]

An Indian Portuguese, i love when cultures come together creates beautiful things & people when u look past all the BS

[@indiavanguardia266]

My ancestors 😍😍

[@rickserrao8538]

Ugh? 🗿

[@befrankpls]

Really well kept and maintained. Kudos to this family. God Bless

[@austindsouza9672]

Congrats preserving the heritage it's so beautiful

[@KalpaHettiarachchi]

Great , greetings from Sri Lanka 🇱🇰

[@saviodesilva7933]

A dream home that most of us can only dream about🥰😪

[@musicmania1959]

The splendour with which the Portuguese lived in Goa! Spare a thought for the rank and file Goan . How did they live? Living on the fat of the land comes to mind for the Portuguese and the wretched for the rest. What a shame!

[@cg8397]

This video doesn't tell everything. The house was originally built by a Goan convert to Christianity, when the male line died out the house was inherited by a daughter married to a Portuguese man.

[@MostPowerfulPMofIndia]

I have been to this house in Goa.

[@johncyr9124]

this is portuguese culture which our present govt want to erase. So magnificent isn't it?

[@vanessa9809]

A beautiful house. The family has done a wonderful job preserving their personal history. The house is an oasis of calm in the hectic modern India.

[@musicmania1959]

This is an example of the rulers and Elite Goan collaborators living on the fat of the land while the poor had to struggle living in huts without education or jobs or future. One wise thing the Portugese did was to give Bombay to the British . The latter provided jobs and prosperity to goans not only in Bombay but in East Africa and other colonies.

[@cg8397]

@@musicmania1959 There was nothing to stop those overseas Goans from moving back to Goa with their acquired riches and starting their own companies and institutions. That they didn't says more about them than the local government and bhatkars.

[@musicmania1959]

@@cg8397 you say return ,but to what? A depressed economy , where's the business-- selling fish to the bhatkars and drunken Portugese.

[@cg8397]

@@musicmania1959 Tristão Bragança Cunha was a graduate of electrical engineering from a top engineering school in Paris, but he never bothered to implement his knowledge and electrify Goa. He just shrieked about politics instead. It's got nothing to do with social position, but mindset. Diaspora Goans kept the same mentality they had even after 1961, choosing to go to the UK instead of returning to Goa when the British colonies in Africa became independent .

[@leeoconnor123]

so, nice, i have never been to goa, some of my family go back, my uncle has friends and extended family there. my grandparents moved to kenya so long ago and i don't have a personal connection to the place as my childhood visits were to kenya and my grandparents and back home to the uk. i have been to portugal though! it's very nice to see this level of history. i'd love to have known more about this family and their home/family tree even. it's impossible for me to make a family tree, so i have to look at other people's. my grandfather had a house in goa but gave it up to the people who ended up living in it illegally, as we all had homes to live in other countries. i do wonder what he left behind though, all those family photo's, as migrants moving around a lot, we seemed to have lost so many family heirlooms, but what we do have is a solid gold rosary in the family, mainly jewellery gifts handed down at weddings etc..

[@ajittffcure]

So beautiful and exquisite. I can almost feel the place without going. I can see why this unique house is embedded with History and memories.

[@nobodyanon7893]

❤️🇵🇹❤️

[@alamajar558]

Amazing authentic historic same price of gold.your lucky preserve heritage all furniture antiques etc

[@nandofigueira2005]

Uma mansão portuguesa de 425 anos, meu deus

[@marianormamendes3600]

What? As if the Indians did not have any architecture! Please wake up!

[@cg8397]

@@marianormamendes3600 It's very rare for any house in any part of the world to be maintained by the same family for so many centuries.

[@takuro2132]

So special. Thank you.

[@shivamchaturvedi6862]

Je t'aime Goa❤️

[@Lrynxe87]

Such a beautiful Goan Portuguese home.

[@cedricsmith8188]

Beautiful.

[@chocolateswiss708]

Wow....Wow....Wow....👍👍👍

[@bnkundwa]

Asia is a continent which needs to be rediscovered.

[@dosa2990]

Don't worry, Asians and especially Norrh Africans are discovering Europe and in due time Europe would be infused with Asian culture

[@darwinfernandes9515]

Wonderful

[@Mr.Xconsiousness]

Omg! nice to see Real Portuguese people

[@wheniwakeupinmy_room_9625]

FIGREDO!!! im a relative of this house

[@newtonalbuquerque3628]

CASA O MELHOR 🤝👍

[@HelloKittyBMToys]

I love

[@michealnash753]

Nice portugees girls

[@marialourdespereira1740]

My home village is Loutulim ❤

[@rajneeshsohal]

Its amazing

[@dianoraferrnandes1965]

Nice beautiful house but which Part of Goa

[@franciscorebello1900]

Lotoulim

[@ivarhakuse8572]

Looks really fantastic!!! Do they have any memorial to the Goa inquisition nearby?

[@ericpinto7559]

no memorial to sending six billion dollars to swiss banks looted from stripped iron ore mines. no taxes paid, no housing or medical services, terrible roads.

[@br3menPT]

Inquisition existed in Portugal too....

[@meme-lh8ls]

The Portuguese had flaws....but they did wonders for Goa.

[@cg8397]

Why should they? This family wasn't involved. The Inquisition targeted only false converts to Christianity.

[@cg8397]

@@meme-lh8ls Don't believe the fake history book written by pro-merger 'Marathi manoos' Priolkar (or the resulting fake history video the Parrikar govt created to show in schools). The Portuguese made sure that no Goans were killed in the 1510 conquest, they teamed up with the local Hindus and killed only the Bijapur Muslims. Read the English translation of Afonso de Albuquerque's letters online. Also, less than 60 persons in total were actually executed by the Goa Inquisition. Again, this is from their own records.

[@gafarmamudodaud6328]

Boa tarde

[@sumitpatil6496]

Kya koi batayega ki ye log purtagaali hai jo yahi rah gaye jab purtagaali 50 saal pahle chle gaye the

[@ronniedrozario8883]

Good documentary, avoid prostitution, and Viva Goa! Now, I hage read prof. T.P.Issar's illustrated Goa Dourada, his next - Delhi Mosoulims, the third should have been on the blend Rajasthani culture. And now, I would like to tell Mr. Issar, to add pictures of in the first text: a)a tipical Goa sea beach with slanting coconut trees, the overall view of numerous tipical Goa houses + overall city look along, St. Francis Xavier 1/2cut lemon preserved body top view when it gets taken out on his birthday, and lastly the leaves / pages of the text should be a bit thinner + less shiny to avoid sticking in the rainy season: Ronny de Rozario; Kolkata, India, & SHARE plz.🎉

[@davidamat6588]

Woke AP sucks, but this video is amazing. Thanks.

[@broadcastmadnesss]

Get a life, Dave.

[@davidamat6588]

@@broadcastmadnesss 😰😰😰

[@swarnadeepsen9123]

Salazar was right. Vassalo e Silva was wrong.

[@cg8397]

No, Salazar also made several mistakes. A lot of illegal immigrants had entered Goa from British India as cheap labour (mostly Marathis) and Partition 'refugees'. They and their families formed a fifth column inside Goa (e.g. Bandodkar, Khalap, Zantye, Melwani, etc.). Salazar's government never bothered to expel these illegals and keep the borders secure. He also never bothered to hold a plebiscite for native Goans to choose between merger with independent India and staying with Portugal (most Goans had observed the inferior living standards in rural British India, he'd have won).

[@rajeshrivankar1401]

Complicade connection

[@Sidd-lj2xu]

Both women looks like luso indian

[@cg8397]

This particular family intermarried with the Portuguese a lot throughout the centuries.

[@manuelalves1313]

Favor!! Recuperem a língua Portuguesa!!!

[@prashanthkamath7437]

I think government should provide some security for the property. Government has to make an audit of fire security of the property and provide for fire safety. I know it is a private property. But I feel government has to pitch in something from it's end.

[@nieverainmaker9706]

If they send a useless assist

[@behemothsbaby]

Let's hope BJP doesn’t destroy it!

[@PrathamBhatia]

Moscøw Suka

[@rsudhakaranpai6480]

Sad that the Atrocities of Portuguese is hidden... forgotten...how they robbed the real Goan....

[@Alfablue227]

Really? How about the attrocities between Hindus and Muslims or v.v.?! Get over yourselves!

[@thedarkside3178]

You forgot to mention later they sent all precious things they took but today's so called Indian govt are 1000 times worst then Portuguese and they even boost that they freed Goa huh.. only blind people will fall for their propaganda

[@tirikamtel]

mae zauneh ghanti stop spewing rubbish about Goa. You have no claim over Goa.

[@frankfernandes519]

You are a gandoo for life with peanuts in your skull with no knowledge only hatred you ugly shit

[@meme-lh8ls]

And the Hindus never did any thing bad, right? The Portuguese had flaws......but they made Goa beautiful all around. Goan Catholics, and Hindus get along just fine Your probably a useless extremist Hindu outsider.

[@enriqueniel8961]

They r look real Portuguese n other Goan people r like black African , I don't knw y people considered them as Portuguese ancestor , Portuguese people r white not black

[@jacobventura7841]

niel cj because the Portuguese colonized Goa and other areas around it and some Portuguese had children with the Goans. Also, Portuguese are Hispanic, not white.

[@ericpinto7559]

there were half a million eurasians in india, also called anglo india, most were actually irish indians.

[@ericpinto7559]

indian migrants to europe and the americas have now produced 200,000 eurasian children.

[@gaiusmarius4112]

Eric Pinto yes that is indeed sad, looks like the moors are coming back to Europe.

[@br3menPT]

@@jacobventura7841 LOL Portuguese are not hispanic....and the natural born people from Iberian Peninsula are white...for sure!!! LOL

[@yyjj7538]

why you call our god's methodology crazy old woman

[@AAG981]

Land of drunk tourists 😔