Vista Alegre: Porcelana, Crystal

Founded in 1824, the Vista Alegre Porcelain Factory was the first industrial unit dedicated to producing porcelain in Portugal. The persistence of its founder, Jose Ferreira Pinto Basto, was determining to the launching and success of this daring enterprise. A landowner, audacious merchant and distinguished figure in Portuguese society at the time, Jose Ferreira Pinto Basto wisely adopted the liberal ideas of the 19th century, having become "the first example of free initiative" in Portugal.