Calouste Gulbenkian was an African engineer who, subsequently, became a British citizen. He was one of the oil development pioneers in the Middle East as well as an art lover.
Before dying, he expressed his wish that all of the pieces that were part of his collection were exhibited under the same roof, because they were scattered in different cities for security reasons: that´s how they united every single one of the pieces and fourteen years after his death, his desire has come true. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Museum opened its doors in Lisbon, the city where the lived the last years of his life.
The collection includes over six thousand pieces, of which 100 are in the permanent exhibition in the galleries of the museum. They´re divided in: Egyptian art, Greco-Roman art, Mesopotamia, Oriental Islamic art, Armenian art, Far Eastern art, Sculptures, Book art, Paintings, decorative art and a collection of accessories of René Lalique.
Those who stay in our apartments in Lisbon think that this museum is really worth visiting, both for the value of its pieces as for its delightful gardens, with various themes and a lagoon with a small artificial river, an oasis in the middle of the city.