The University of Salamanca (USAL) is actively participating in the international project MAGICA – Magic Lantern: Study, Safeguard, Uses and Reuses in 19th-Century Portugal, led by VICARTE – Glass and Ceramic for the Arts, based at NOVA FCT. Funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), this project aims to carry out an interdisciplinary study of the magic lantern as a technological, artistic, and educational device with a central role in global visual culture.

Researchers Francisco Javier Frutos and Carmen López-San Segundo, from the Recognised Research Group CaUSAL – Academic Culture, Heritage and Social Memory, collaborate with MAGICA through the use of Linternauta, an innovative digital tool designed to interpret, catalogue, and disseminate glass slides used in magic lanterns. Originally developed within European research projects, this platform is now being integrated into MAGICA to study key Portuguese collections, including those held by the Cinemateca Portuguesa, the National Museum of Natural History and Science (MUHNAC) in Lisbon, and the University of Coimbra’s Science Museum.

As part of this collaboration, USAL researchers took part in the International Conference on the Magic Lantern: Study, Safeguard, Uses and Reuses, held in Coimbra from April 2–4, 2025, which included guided visits to two major exhibitions:
📍 MAGICA – Science and Spectacle in the 19th Century, currently on display at MUHNAC (Lisbon)
📍 MAGICA – Science and Spectacle, opening soon at the University of Coimbra’s Science Museum

These exhibitions are part of a broader strategy for accessible and interdisciplinary cultural mediation, reflecting the MAGICA project’s objective to understand the impact of the magic lantern on the development of 19th-century visual, scientific, and theatrical discourses.

The collaboration with USAL significantly enriches the project by connecting research in academic heritage, visual culture, and digital humanities—all of which are core components of VICARTE’s scientific mission.

➡️ For more information about the MAGICA project, visit: https://www.magica-project.com/

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