Portuguese Centre for Photography

The Portuguese Centre for Photography was established in 1997, when the Portuguese Ministry of Culture decided to implement a national policy for photography. It is currently under the tutelage of the General Directorate for Books, Archives and Libraries, whose mission is to safeguard, enhance and promote the photographic heritage. It has a permanent museum and an interesting and dynamic program of temporary exhibitions. The building, which is also known as Relação Jail, dates from 1767 and housed, in times gone by, the Jail and the Court of Appeals of Porto. The old Relação Jail is closely linked to the name of Camilo Castelo Branco, who was imprisoned there twice, the second time with Ana Plácido. Both were jailed for the crime of adultery for over a year - from 1 October 1860 to 16 October 1861 and it was here that the Portuguese author wrote his most popular work, "Amor de Perdição" ("Doomed Love") - hence the name given by the Porto City Hall to the square in front of this historic building.