Friday 28 March 2008

Leal Senado Building 民政總署大樓 (民政总署大楼)

located on a square bearing the same name, Leal Senado Square (Largo do Leal Senado), the Leal Senado Building was erected in 1784. The building was the municipal council of the Portuguese government in Macau before the handover. The building now houses the offices of the Institute for Civic and Municipal Affairs of the Macao SAR. The architecture style in the Leal Senado building is neo-classical southern European style.

The building features an underground exhibition hall. The library has a mass valuable literary collection spanning the 17th Century to the 1950s, including the "A Abelha da China" newspaper, which was established in 1822 as the first Macau paper and the first foreign language paper to appear in China. The great hall on the ground floor feature antique designs and luxurious decorations, with a neat and beauty little garden inside. The garden has an elegant and simple design with decorative objects such as a bronze bust of the poet Luis de Camoes.

民政總署大樓的位置, 歷史上原為一座中式亭樓建筑的議事亭, 為明朝政府宣讀政府命令和作為中葡官員會面的場所。 1784年(清干隆四十九年)葡萄牙人購買了該地皮, 並興建具葡萄牙風格的議事公局大樓。 大樓成為葡萄牙人在澳門的地方政治心臟, 一切市政事宜以至葡萄牙的集會和慶典都會在此舉行。 議事公局大樓后曾多次重修, 目前規模是1874年重修時形成的, 具明顯的南歐建筑藝術特色。

澳門市政廳大樓曾附設過多個機構, 包括賈梅士博物院、書信館、法院和監獄,后均遷出。 2002年1月1日澳門民政總署成立, 取代澳門的市政機構, 大樓名稱也改為「民政總署大樓」。 大樓地下右側是展覽廳, 定期舉辦各項藝術展覽。 大樓二樓設有一所公共圖書館, 於1929年啟用。 圖書館以葡國瑪弗拉修道院的圖書館(Biblioteca do Convento de Mafra)為設計藍本, 裝潢和家具陳設具有厚厚的古典氣息。 現在專門收藏17世紀至20世紀50年代的外文古籍, 特別是葡萄牙在非洲及遠東的歷史文獻, 其中不乏珍品。 另外大樓的后方有一個葡式花園, 有一個渾天儀形狀的花圃以及葡萄牙詩人賈梅士的半身像。

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