After its debut in 2024 Casa Portugal: Books and Flavours returns to the 23rd edition of the Festa Literária Internacional de Paraty (FLIP) with a renewed programme filled with inspiring encounters, sensory experiences, and a profound celebration of the ties between Portugal and Brazil. From 30 July to 3 August 2025, Paraty once again hosts this unique space where words, affection and flavour intertwine.
The initiative offers an immersion into Portuguese culture and its deep-rooted connections with Brazil through engaging thematic itineraries that invite visitors to journey to Portugal. The schedule promotes meetings with writers - namely from both countries and the wider Lusophone world - and includes gastronomic experiences featuring tastings of Portuguese wines, snacks and sweets, all in a relaxed, café-style setting open to the public.
This year, the literary hosts of the house are Brazilian writer Andréa del Fuego and Portuguese author Afonso Cruz, who will lead two themed cycles of panels focusing on Luso-Brazilian dialogue and literary creation in the Portuguese language.
Casa Portugal also serves as a platform for promoting Portugal as a literary tourism destination, highlighting writers’ houses, themed literary routes, and festivals. The programme includes a panel dedicated to Portugal's literary hotels and will also present a new episode of the project Viagem a Portugal Revisited, featuring Andréa del Fuego’s journey through the Alentejo region—part of the commemorations marking the centenary of José Saramago. The bicentenary of Camilo Castelo Branco’s birth will also be honoured throughout the sessions.
The gastronomic programming remains under the direction of historian Ana Roldão, who invites four chefs to engage in a cross-cultural dialogue of flavours between Brazil and Portugal. Award-winning chef Rodrigo Castelo, from the restaurant Ó Balcão (Santarém), will bring the authenticity of contemporary Portuguese cuisine. He will be joined by chef Ana Bueno, a leading figure in caiçara cuisine and social gastronomy, who heads the kitchen of Banana da Terra (Paraty). The team is rounded out by chef Marina Hirth, from Marina Paraty, and chef Dave França, whose cooking is rooted in ancestral traditions and shaped by the influence of the women in his family.
With talks, live cooking sessions, tastings and activities for all ages, Casa Portugal: Books and Flavours is a vibrant, sensory meeting point between Brazil and Portugal—a journey through the flavours, sounds and stories that unite the two countries. The space will also feature a bookshop, showcasing editions by both classic and contemporary Portuguese authors, as well as works by participating guests.
Casa Portugal: Books and Flavours is part of the Literary Tourism Action Programme, an initiative led by Turismo de Portugal, aimed at promoting the country as one of Europe’s most vibrant destinations for literary-inspired travel. The initiative is supported by the Embassy of Portugal in Brazil / Camões – Portuguese Cultural Centre in Brasília, Camões I.P., DGLAB, José Saramago Foundation, TAP Air Portugal, and Embratur.
Since 2019, Turismo de Portugal has been investing in literary tourism, reinforcing Portugal’s status as one of Europe’s leading cultural destinations. Its presence at FLIP has strengthened Luso-Brazilian cultural exchange, presenting the best of Portugal’s cultural and tourism scene in Paraty.
