Entirely devoted to Lisbon's urban song universe, Museu do Fado opened its doors to the public on the 25 September 1998, celebrating Fado’s exceptional value as an identifying symbol of the City of Lisbon, its deep roots in the tradition and cultural history of the country, its role in the cultural identity statement and its importance as an inspiration source and intercultural trade between people and communities.
According to its Internal Regulation (Article 3), the Museum Mission is defined by the set of activities inherent to the accomplishment of the general goals of gathering, preserving, conserving, investigating, interpreting, promoting, divulge, exhibit, document and fruition of Fado and Portuguese Guitar’s universe museological body, spreading the knowledge on this music genre and promoting its learning.
Conceptually assuming Fado as a performing art under permanent construction, the Museum has various functional valences – Museum School, documentation centre, auditorium, permanent and temporary exhibitive circuit – which have contributed to fulfilling the defined mission.