In the news
What the Portuguese and international press report on the Donation Golden Visa and on the projects we build.
Golden visas in culture: Museus e Monumentos de Portugal turned down €2.25 million in Russian investment
The business daily reports the figures GEPAC presented at its public session at the CCB: €104.7 million raised for Portuguese culture since 2020, from 479 investors, with 2025 the peak year at 213 declarations and €47.3 million. Most of the money went to heritage recovery, largely in low-density territories. Public institutions described how they screen donors, and Palacete Fundação Alentejo in Estremoz was named among the three projects that raised most in 2025, with €4.2 million.
Original article in Portuguese. Headline and summary translated by Cascais Ventures.
Mediterranean and medieval musical heritage celebrated in Monsanto, Idanha-a-Nova
The Encontros Med festival brings traditional and early-music ensembles to the historic village of Monsanto, among them Georgia's Ozurgeti Folk Ensemble, with a polyphony workshop and sessions for the local school. Supported by the Directorate-General for the Arts, the festival is part of the Geografia Criativa Festival da Paisagem programme promoted by the UNESCO Naturtejo Geopark.
Original article in Portuguese. Headline and summary translated by Cascais Ventures.
Cultural Donations Are the Future of Portugal's Golden Visa, Here's Why
Our feature for IMI Daily, the investment migration industry's trade publication, on why the cultural route is gaining ground over the fund route: a lower qualifying amount, fixed one-time costs and a donation that pays for something that gets made. It walks through projects in our portfolio, from the elephant sanctuary documentary in the Alentejo to the restoration of the Estremoz palace.
Portugal's last circus elephant finds refuge in Alentejo sanctuary
Euronews reports from Pangea, between Vila Viçosa and Alandroal, presented as Europe's first large-scale elephant refuge. Its director explains why a ban on wild animals in circuses needs a sanctuary to make it work, and how Pangea intends to take in elephants from zoos and circuses across Europe.
The Nomadic Forest will be one of the main legacies of Évora 2027, says the president of Évora_27
At the signing of the protocol for the renaturalisation of Rossio de São Brás, the president of Évora_27 called the Floresta Nómada one of the structuring projects of the European Capital of Culture. The forest will be rearranged several times during 2027 to host performances and community projects, and its main structure will stay in the square after the year ends.
Original article in Portuguese. Headline and summary translated by Cascais Ventures.
Julie's new home: Portugal's last circus elephant is the first resident of an Alentejo sanctuary
Portuguese television follows Julie to the Pangea Elephant Sanctuary. Her arrival marks the end of wild animals in Portuguese circuses and a decisive step for the welfare of captive elephants in Europe.
Original article in Portuguese. Headline and summary translated by Cascais Ventures.
How a Suffolk charity gave the 'last circus elephant' a new life
Julie, taken from the wild as a calf and kept by a circus for 40 years, arrived on 2 July 2026 at the Pangea Elephant Sanctuary in the Alentejo, its first resident. A second elephant, Kariba, is due to join her from a Belgian zoo. The sanctuary and its elephants are the subject of A Volta do Elefante, the documentary we co-produce.
Portugal's last circus elephant becomes Alentejo sanctuary's first resident
Julie's arrival from the Victor Hugo Cardinali circus opens what is considered Europe's first large-scale elephant sanctuary, on 1,000 acres in the Alentejo, and completes Portugal's ban on wild animals in circuses.
Donations to culture for golden visas jump almost 300%
Citing Ministry of Culture data first published by Diário de Notícias, ECO reports that capital transfers to cultural projects for golden visa purposes reached €46.8 million in 2025, up from €11.7 million in 2024 and by far the highest year since the route opened in 2020. Americans lead, followed by Chinese and Indian applicants.
Original article in Portuguese. Headline and summary translated by Cascais Ventures.
Golden visas through culture jump almost 300% and raise €46.8 million in 2025
The business daily reports that investment through the cultural route more than quadrupled in a year to a record since 2020, with demand rising after the real estate route ended. The number of declarations confirming transfers went from 50 in 2024 to 211 in 2025, and US citizens lead the route since its launch.
Original article in Portuguese. Headline and summary translated by Cascais Ventures.
Summaries are written by Cascais Ventures. Items marked Sponsored feature are paid content we commissioned. Each article belongs to its publisher and opens on the publisher's site. Figures quoted by the press can differ from the official ones; for the route's figures, GEPAC's data on The route in numbers prevails.
Keep exploring
Updated 8 October 2026 · Cascais Ventures