Casa-Museo Manuel María

Casa-Museo Manuel María is a house-museum dedicated to the poet Manuel María, located in Outeiro de Rei, in the province of Lugo, Galicia. It occupies the building known locally as Casa das Hortas, the family home where the poet was born and grew up.

Who was Manuel María?

Manuel María Fernández Teixeiro was born on 6 October 1929 in this very house, in the Terra Chá district, into a well-off farming family the village called "os Hortas" — the origin of the house's name. It was a schoolteacher in nearby Rábade, reading Galician poetry aloud on Saturday afternoons, who first showed the boy that a literature existed in his own language. He started secondary school in Lugo in the 1942-43 year, but before he finished it his father died, in May 1943.

Recognition came early: he won the Castelao Prize for poetry in 1952 and the Pondal Prize, awarded by the Centro Galego de Buenos Aires, in 1955. In 1997 he published a poetry collection titled "Sonetos á casa de Hortas," written in tribute to the family home itself. He died on 8 September 2004 in A Coruña. In 2016 he was named the honoree of Galicia's Día das Letras Galegas, the region's highest literary tribute.

How did the family home become a museum?

The Manuel María Foundation took over the poet's birthplace and carried out renovation work aimed at preserving the original character of the building as far as possible. The old barn was turned into a small auditorium, and the former stable became a library. The museum opened its doors on 7 September 2013, and the building now also serves as the foundation's headquarters.

What is on display inside?

The house holds the poet's complete personal library, roughly 12,000 volumes, alongside his personal belongings and artworks he collected over his lifetime. Visitors walk through the rooms of the old rural home where he spent his childhood, learned to read, and wrote his earliest work — the space still carries the feel of a Galician farmhouse from decades past rather than a conventional gallery.

Practical information

The museum is located at Rúa F, 2, 27150 Outeiro de Rei, in the province of Lugo. Because it is run by a small foundation, opening hours can vary, so calling ahead to confirm the schedule before a visit is worthwhile.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Casa-Museo Manuel María? In Outeiro de Rei, province of Lugo, in the Terra Chá district of Galicia — inside the house where the poet was born.

Who was Manuel María and why does he have a dedicated museum? He was one of the most significant 20th-century poets writing in Galician, winner of the Castelao and Pondal poetry prizes, and the honoree of the 2016 Día das Letras Galegas.

What can visitors see inside the museum? The poet's roughly 12,000-volume personal library, his belongings, and the artworks he collected, displayed inside the rooms of his restored childhood home.

When did the museum open? It opened on 7 September 2013, after the foundation bearing the poet's name acquired and restored his family house.