The Iberian Mask and Costume Museum, located on the main street of Cidadela, opened on February 24, 2007, is a space for the dissemination of traditions related to the Masks of the Northeast Transmontano and the Zamora region (partnership between the Municipality of Bragança and the Diputación de Zamora).

Its primary objective is to promote the cultural dynamics of a region of the interior of the peninsular and to highlight a unique cultural element, the masks, present in the well-known “Winter Festivals”, which serve as a starting point for a whole set of ethnographic activities, aimed at not only for the regions involved in the project but mainly for those that are not directly linked to it.

The Winter Festivals are cultural manifestations, transmitted orally over time, becoming specific customs, traditions and lifestyles of this cross-border region. They include ancient rituals, passed from generation to generation, uniting the past and the present in a unique way and contribute to the knowledge of a region that surpasses geographical limitations. They constitute, unequivocally, an important and strong differentiating feature of their own unique identity, thus representing a valuable cultural heritage that is circumscribed in supranational territorial spheres.

In this museum, masks, costumes, props and objects used in the “Winter Festivals” in Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro and in the “Las Mascaradas de Invierno” in the Zamora region are on display.

The Iberian Mask and Costume Museum was born in a context of betting on the theme of the mask as an identifying element of a region that still maintains its characteristics and traditions.