Bars and Discotheques

In order to meet the need of our city for a space exclusively dedicated to the propagation of the “Fado de Coimbra” genre, the group Quinteto de Coimbra Fado House, in existence since 2001, became the leaseholder of Nossa Senhora de Victoria chapel. Since then, it has been called àCapella. With a restoration and retrofitting project designed by the architects Ângelo Ramalhete, Maria Manuel Ataíde and Pedro Taborda, which in 2005 was awarded the Diogo Castilho prize, it was finally restored, inaugurated and opened to the public in June 2003.

The group is now composed exclusively of musicians dedicated to the development and dissemination of one of the most authentic and characteristic genres of our region, and of Portugal, Fado. This group includes the participation of several elements that contributed over the years, for a better portrayal of art and music, taking into account the roots of "Fado de Coimbra" and the future vision of creating new sounds adapted to new musical trends.

àCapella cultural centre has had a key role in the development of tourism in the city of Coimbra, and has become a mandatory stop for visitors to our city. It is recommended and advertised by major tourist guides. More than 70,000 tourists, both local and from abroad, have already visited the centre. After 5 years of daily shows, we are extremely proud to be a location that receives, on a daily basis, artists from many different groups of Fado de Coimbra, Lisbon, and also established artists such as Luiz Goes, Vitorino, Paulo de Carvalho, Rão Kyao, Cristina Branco, etc.

With a unique and exquisite sonority, the Portuguese guitar associated with singing, in its most traditional essence, makes this musical style the utmost representation of our culture, evoking sensations and emotions.

- A guitarra hoje que eu toco, fala da vida- Ter gente dentro da guitarra.-



















C. Paredes

The àCapella daily repertoire is comprised of traditional and modern themes, some of which have been adapted and revisited, combining Portuguese Guitar with other instruments such as Accordion, Piano, Acoustic Bass Guitar and Classic Guitar.

The show is a journey through time; it tells the history of our music, and taking advantage in this case of the excellent acoustics of the chapel, as well as modern technology, to obtain sounds and images that foster “both auditory and visual pleasure for those who watch and listen”.

Our daily show is composed of 3 different parts, of about 30 minutes each, separated by images, videos or advertisement segments projected on screen.