Virtual reconstruction beyond the past: heritagefuture-making at the Capuchos convent in Alferrara, Portugal

28 de agosto de 2026

While virtual reconstruction commonly aims to visualise the past,this article argues that its knowledge production can also contri-bute to heritage future-making. We explore this in the ruins of theCapuchos Convent in Alferrara, Portugal, a largely forgotten sitefounded by Franciscan friars in the sixteenth century. After nearlytwo centuries of abandonment, and midway through a 25-yearrecovery plan, the site’s identity is being reconsidered throughnew trajectories and heritage programmes that echo past useswhile responding to increasing drought and water scarcity in south-ern Portugal. These include selective recovery, curated decay, andagricultural learning rather than total restoration. Key to this is theconvent’s sophisticated gravity-fed hydraulic system. Currentlyinactive, its network of mines, channels, conduits, and storagetanks allowed the former community to inhabit and cultivate thelandscape across centuries. Combining non-invasive digital survey-ing with comparative analysis and local testimony, we clarify theremaining fragments of this system while showing how this knowl-edge identifies pathways for further interpretation and reactivation.The research contributes to underdeveloped discussions on virtualreconstruction as heritage practice by showing how knowledgegenerated from derelict and forgotten sites can inform future-oriented decisions about interpretation, selective intervention,and possible reuse in the Anthropocene.

Autores da comunidade :

• 

  J

  Jesse Rafeiro

  ist429361

  Afiliações e fontes

  IST > DECivil > CERIS

  Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Engenharia Civil para a Sustentabilidade

• 

  A

  Ana Paula Filipe Tomé

  ist24777

  Afiliações e fontes

  IST > DECivil

  Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Ambiente

International Journal of Heritage Studies

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13527258.2026.2723873

10.1080/13527258.2026.2723873

history-and-archaeology - História e Arqueologia

Palavras-chave

• Virtual reconstruction;heritage future
• waterheritage
• conventarchitecture
• Anthropocene

eng - Inglês

Entidade financiadora da bolsa/projeto

HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions

Nome da bolsa/projeto: Reviving Monastic Water Management to Safeguard Environmental and Cultural Heritage in Alferrara, Portugal

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Fonte de financiamento: European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme

Identificador da Entidade Financiadora: https://doi.org/10.13039/100018694

Tipo de identificador da Entidade Financiadora: Crossref Funder

Número de bolsa/projeto: 101207766

Entidade financiadora da bolsa/projeto

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Nome da bolsa/projeto: Reviving Monastic Hydraulic Systems for Heritage and Climate Resilience in Alferrara, Portugal

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Fonte de financiamento: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists

Identificador da Entidade Financiadora: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001691

Tipo de identificador da Entidade Financiadora: Crossref Funder

Número de bolsa/projeto: 25K17761

Entidade financiadora da bolsa/projeto

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Nome da bolsa/projeto: Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Engenharia Civil para a Sustentabilidade

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Fonte de financiamento: Avaliação UID 2023/2024 https://sciproj.ptcris.pt/177134UID

Identificador da Entidade Financiadora: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871

Tipo de identificador da Entidade Financiadora: Crossref Funder

Número de bolsa/projeto: UID/6438/2025