The celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Independence of Brazil may have an unusual request from the Brazilian authorities: the loan of the heart of Dom Pedro 1º, currently kept in a church in Porto, in the north of Portugal.
The possibility was revealed by Brazilian ambassador George Prata, one of the coordinators of the bicentennial celebration program, to Agência Lusa. He said that, because of the importance attributed to the figure of the emperor by both countries, “preliminary talks were started to explore the possibility of temporarily transferring the heart of Dom Pedro to Brazil”.
The ambassador noted that there was still no formal request, but that he spoke about the matter with representatives of the Porto City Council and the church where the organ is located.
“This is still at an early stage and there are considerations to be taken. Perhaps the most important of them is the state of conservation of the heart and whether it could be temporarily transferred to Brazil,” added the diplomat.
According to him, the Portuguese would have welcomed the idea. However, the proposal will only be formalized if the technical feasibility of loaning and transporting the organ to Brazil is confirmed.
Questioned by Sheet on the matter, the Itamaraty said only that it had “initiated talks with Portuguese authorities to examine the possibility of temporary transfer”, in the context of the celebrations of the bicentennial of Independence, and confirmed that it had contacted the Câmara do Porto and the Irmandade de Nossa Senhora da Lapa.
The emperor’s heart is guarded, under the protection of five keys and with several layers of protection, in the church of Lapa, and its fragility causes the authorities to greatly limit its handling. The last public exhibition of the heart, which is preserved in formaldehyde and can be seen through glass, took place seven years ago, for the recording of a documentary.
Current precautions were not always in place. For a long time, it was common for the organ to be shown to Brazilian authorities visiting Portugal.
Although the body of the first Brazilian emperor is in the Ipiranga museum in São Paulo, the heart remained in Porto at the request of the emperor himself, who expressed his desire in his will. The gesture was an acknowledgment of the role that the city played in the struggle that Dom Pedro fought with the armies of his younger brother, Dom Miguel, for the throne of Portugal.
After abdicating the Brazilian throne in April 1831, less than a decade after independence, he left for Europe with the aim of reconquering the Portuguese crown for his daughter, Maria da Glória, recognized as a legitimate heir by the European monarchies.
The absolutist troops, under Dom Miguel, and the liberal ones, under Pedro, fought a bloody civil war in Portugal. Even under siege for more than a year, the city of Porto resisted the attacks and was essential for the victory of the army led by Pedro 1º.
Weakened by war wounds, he died of tuberculosis a few months after the end of the conflict in September 1834, aged 35. First Emperor of Brazil, the ruler is known to Brazilians as Pedro 1º, while in Portugal he is called Dom Pedro 4º.
