Looking back at us — In the summer of 1736, date unknown, the beneficiary Manuel Antunes, native of Barbacena, left home on his mule. On his way from Portas da Esquina to Horta dos Passarinhos, he came across a steep and stony slope, where his mule took fright for reasons unsure. Time and again, the cleric fell to the ground. Badly hurt and in great distress, he pleaded with the heavens, which came to his aid. In keeping with his promise, he had the crude cross in the fields of Torre das Arcas repaired.

What is knowledge? Where does it come from? How does it sprout and take shape in creativity, in human hands, in time, and flow into objects that whisper, all powerful? I had never seen this invisible thread of knowledge transmission at such close quarters until I found myself lost in conversation and total fascination at Manufactura das Tapeçarias de Portalegre (Portalegre Tapestries).