In 1882,the State legislature approved some limited financing, but this was considered insufficient. Later that year, the president of the Province, Jos Lustosa Paranagu, approved a larger budget and initiated a competition for the presentation of plans.
The chosen project was made by the Gabinete Portugus de Engenharia e Arquitectura, an engineering and architecture office from Lisbon.
By 1884, construction was ready to begin under the Italian architect Celestial Sacardim.
Work proceeded slowly over the following fifteen years with some stops and restarts from 1885 to 1892.
SCHEDULE
Tuesday to Saturday, including holidays from 9am to 5pm
Guided tours start every 30 minutes. Il will be suspended between 12.00 noon and 2:00 PM whenever there are admission-free.
If performances are scheduled for the afternoon (5.00 PM), the last guided tour will depart at 3.00 PM.
Ticket
Tickets will be delivered to the clients one day before the day of the visit.