The book “The Viscount of São Lázaro and the Raio Palace. Modernity and progress in Braga in the second half of the 19th century”, by Maria Marta Lobo de Araújo, received the “Lusitânia History Award – History of Portugal” from the Portuguese Academy of History.

The author is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Minho, an integrated researcher at Lab2PT – Laboratory of Landscapes, Heritage and Territory, a collaborator at the Center for Religious History of the Portuguese Catholic University and coordinator of the Social History in the North group. She is also a member of the Portuguese Academy of History and director of the Bracara Augusta Magazine.

 

The award-winning monograph portrays the life of Miguel José Raio, who became wealthy in Pará and returned to Braga as a symbol of success and modernity. Back in the city, he stood out for his economic, social, religious, welfare and political activity, making the Raio Palace the center of his family life and the Braga elite. The author also intends, through this figure, to highlight a reality deeply rooted in Northwest Portugal: emigration to Brazil in the 19th century.

 

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