The locality of Caramulo was founded in 1921, the result of the initiative of a visionary doctor, Jerónimo de Lacerda, who in the southern slope of the mountain created what would eventually establish itself as the largest sanatorium resort in Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula and which changed forever the social and economic panorama of this region. The cluster had unique infrastructures in the country, such as piped water at home, sewage network, garbage collection and its own electrical network. The village came to have in operation close to 20 sanatoriums, which translated into a population of more than three thousand people. The oldest – the Great Sanatorium – opened its doors in 1922, after the creation of a society driven by the doctor Jerónimo de Lacerda, that included personalities of the time.

If Jerónimo de Lacerda was the pioneer in the creation of a model town for the time, with all the sanitary conditions, gardens, green spaces and ample proportions never seen before, his sons, Abel and João de Lacerda gave him international prominence.

And even today, the Museu do Caramulo, with one of the largest collections of Classic Cars in the World, is living proof of this legacy.