The construction of the park began in 1938, an initiative of Professor Bissaya Barreto, following a project developed by architect Cassiano Branco. The first phase of the project occurred between 1938 and 1940, which involved the recreation of group of structures identified as typical homes, chapels, mills and pillories located of the Trás-os-Montes and Minho region. The second phase began in the middle of the century, in an area that illustrated many of the country's monuments and heritage sites. At the end of the 1950s, the third phase was concluded. This section included pavilions dedicated to reconstitute artefacts and symbolic structures associated with the overseas provinces at the time. In addition to buildings and motifs that included representations from Portuguese Africa, Brazil, Macau, India and East Timor, the area was circled by native flora, as well as buildings for the Azores and Madeira.