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The Portuguese Cultural Foundation (PCF) an institution with headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, has been managing arts and humanities programs for the last 20 years. These include programs such as music concerts ranging from classical to folk traditions and art exhibits as diverse as introducing contemporary artists and presenting historically significant art. |
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In the arts, the PCF erected an award-winning sculpture honoring the Portuguese explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries. The Portuguese Navigators Monument at Brenton Point State Park, in Newport, Rhode Island, is a one acre testimony to the accomplishments of people such as Prince Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama, Bartholomew Dias, and many others. |
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In the humanities, the PCF has worked with the National Endowment for the Humanities to present educational institutes for classroom teachers. Teachers were taught about the period in history during which the Portuguese made significant contributions to universal knowledge by mapping a great portion of the then-unknown world, an endeavor that helped bring the peoples of the planet closer together. |
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Currently, the PCF is embarked on a long-term project of working on the creation of the Heritage Harbor Museum in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. This museum will present the heritage of the peoples who helped shape Southeastern New England, in the Northeastern part of the United States. The Portuguese are a substantial group in this part of the country -- as they also are in New Jersey, California, Hawaii, and Florida. |
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The centerpiece of the museum will be a life-size replica of a Portuguese Caravel, which was the ship the Portuguese designed to explore the open oceans and discover the main sea routes connecting Europe to the Far East during the 15th and 16th centuries. |
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Another important endeavor of the the PCF is the search for historically significant shipwrecks in Portuguese territorial waters. Working with the Ocean Technology Foundation at the University of Connecticut as well as the Autonomous University of Lisbon, Portugal, the PCF expects to find a major underwater site within a ten year period. |
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BEST VIEWED WITH 800X600 PIXEL SCREEN SETTING |
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