MatrizPCI

MatrizPCI is the digital platform for managing and disseminating the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Portugal. Maintained by the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC), it constitutes the principal reference resource in the Portuguese language for the field of intangible heritage, bringing together in a single system the inventory records of the cultural expressions protected by the State, as well as legislation, regulations, publications and support materials.

Origins and legal framework

MatrizPCI was made available online on 1 June 2011 by the then Institute of Museums and Conservation (IMC), within the framework of the application of Article 12 of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The system belongs to the Matriz family of applications and adapts the Matriz 3.0 database to the specificities of intangible heritage, following international technical guidelines for the sector.

The National Inventory operates under Decree-Law no. 139/2009 of 15 June — as amended by Decree-Law no. 149/2015 of 4 August — and under Ordinance no. 196/2010 of 9 April, which sets out the inventory procedures. With the reorganisation of heritage administration, management of the system passed to the DGPC, which handles applications through the Division of Built, Movable and Intangible Heritage. The legal regime for intangible heritage defines who may propose the inscription of an item and what documentation is required.

Scope and operation

MatrizPCI is based on a bottom-up safeguarding strategy, which encourages the direct participation of communities, groups and individuals in the process of inventorying their heritage. Any promoting body may initiate, entirely paperlessly, the procedure for registering an expression in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage, as well as propose the updating or revision of existing records.

Each inventory record is documented in the database with all the elements that comprise it, regardless of format — text, image, video and sound. This multimedia approach makes it possible to record living expressions such as know-how, crafts, festivities, music and oral traditions with precision. Among the inventoried expressions are items that would go on to feature in UNESCO’s lists, such as Cante Alentejano and falconry, demonstrating the connection between the national inventory and international recognition.

Place in the digital heritage ecosystem

MatrizPCI is part of the set of information systems that the DGPC maintains in the fields of material and intangible heritage. While MatrizNet disseminates the inventory of the movable heritage of museums, MatrizPCI covers exclusively the intangible realm, complementing the management tools under the responsibility of the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage.

The platform also provides resources of an educational and documentary nature — legislation, regulations, publications and information on courses and training activities — establishing itself as a central point of access to knowledge about intangible cultural heritage in Portugal. In 2012, the Regional Directorate for Culture of the Azores launched “MatrizPCI Açores”, a version dedicated to the Regional Inventory of the archipelago, demonstrating the replicability of the model at regional scales.