The reissue of Camilo Castelo Branco's “No Bom Jesus do Monte”, published by Opera Omnia, which will be presented today at the Hotel do Parque, in Bom Jesus, will be the first of 12 titles in a Camillian collection that will be published throughout the year, and which will mark the bicentenary of the writer of “Amor de Perdição” in the best possible way: by promoting the reading of his unmissable work.
Cândido Oliveira Martins, a professor at the Portuguese Catholic University and author of the introduction to the reissue of “No Bom Jesus do Monte”, told Diário do Minho yesterday that “this is the best tribute that can be paid to a writer, and it consists precisely of promoting his work and, if possible, winning over new readers”.
Referring in particular to the volume that will be presented today, Cândido Oliveira Martins considers it to be “a unique tribute to the sacred and profane space of Bom Jesus”.
“It's a unique book, above all because it has a strong biographical component, like the other novels in this collection which have a strong connection to Camillian geography,” says the lecturer and researcher at the Portuguese Catholic University.
Admitting that Camilo Castelo Branco himself recognized that he wasn't the only one to write about the Bom Jesus do Monte Sanctuary (which was the backdrop for other works), Cândido Oliveira Martins points out, however, the specificity of Camilo's work, in which Bom Jesus becomes the stage for various stories and the setting for loves and dislikes, in a true “tribute” to this unique place in Braga, classified as a National Monument and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Cândido Oliveira Martins highlights the beauty of this reissue, including the design of the cover and back cover, by Ireneu Oliveira, which consisted of the artistic recreation of old engravings of Bom Jesus and the Braga Cathedral.
Partnership Network
As part of the celebrations for the bicentenary of Camilo Castelo Branco's birth, a cooperation agreement was signed between 27 institutions in the Northern Region, the geographical area where Camilo concentrated a large part of his work.
The protocol aimed to establish a partnership for the commemorations of this date, which has since been joined by the municipalities of Baião, Cabeceiras de Basto and Maia, as well as the Portuguese Catholic University.
The Partnership Network initiative is coordinated by the CCDR Norte, and as well as promoting inter-institutional cooperation for the promotion of an integrated agenda of cultural and artistic initiatives and the dissemination of Camilo's work, it also encourages co-productions and itinerancies in the context of the bicentenary of his birth.
