April 24, 2019:
Today we are going to take a short walking tour of the town of Estoril, then we are going to tour the Palace and Gardens of the Marquês de Pombal.
ESTORIL WALKING TOUR:
Church of Saint Anthony of Estoril (Igreja de Santo António do Estoril):
The present church of Church of Saint Anthony of Estoril (Igreja de Santo António do Estoril) was constructed by the Order of Saint Francis (along with the Convent of St. Anthony of Estoril), in the place where an old wooden hermitage was dedicated to São Roque (Saint Roque), with an altar to São António (Saint Anthony), erected in 1527 by Leonor Fernandes, a resident of Casal do Estoril.
Convent of Saint Anthony of Estoril
The earthquake of 1755 destroyed the Church almost completely, and its reconstruction was begun a couple of years later. Almost two centuries later, in 1927, the Church was again gutted following a major fire, and was rebuilt again.
Church of Saint Anthony of Estoril (Igreja de Santo António do Estoril)
The entryway is decorated beautifully with azulejos.
Entryway
The Nave is very ornate.
Nave
Drawing your attention to the main altar.
Main altar
The Nave includes wonderful fresco ceiling paintings by Carlos Bonvalot.
Fresco ceiling paintings
Various panels of tiles, with motifs of the life of Saint Anthony, cover the side walls of the nave.
Tiles about the life of St. Anthony
There are beautiful side chapels as well.
The ornate pulpit seems suspended in air.
The baptismal font is quite humble compared to other decorations.
Baptismal font
Exiting the church, we are struck by its simply beauty.
Exiting the church
Across the street from the church is a house in the Casa Portugesa style.
House across the street
Estoril Telephone Station:
One of the first works of an admittedly modernist trait that the architect Adelino Nunes (1903-1948) designed in Estoril, the Estoril Telephone Station building, currently abandoned.
Old Estoril Telephone Station
Just past the Estoril Telephone Station you will see a crosswalk – cross over to the south side of Avenida Marginal here and take the first tunnel just east of the Estoril Telephone Station underneath the railroad tracks to access the beach.
Children Tile Art, tunnel to Praia do Tamariz (Tamariz Beach)
Villa Tamariz:
The Villa Tamariz is a restaurant and bar called the Villa Tamariz Utopia, part of the Penha Longa Resort owned by Ritz-Carlton (which also includes the Tamariz Beach Club next door).
Villa Tamariz
Walk east on the beach promenade from the Villa Tamariz until you reach the…
Tamariz Beach
Forte da Cruz:
At the eastern end of the Praia do Tamariz (Tamariz Beach), is the Forte da Cruz, now utilized by the Ritz Carlton Penha Longa Resort for catering up to 110 guests indoors and up to 500 guests outdoors on a magnificent terrace facing the beach.
Fort da Cruz
Cocheiras de Santos Jorge (Carriages of Santos Jorge):
This is an old carriage garage and stables of the house of the owner António Santos Jorge (1866-1923), next to the Main Entrance of the Forte da Cruz at Rua Olivença 14 A.
Cocheiras de Santos Jorge (Carriages of Santos Jorge)
Casa do Cruzeiro (House of the Cross):
António José Viana da Silva Carvalho (familiar of José Viana, owner of the Banhos do Estoril or Baths of Estoril) constructed this house, on the street that was once called Estrada Real (Street of the Kings), but currently is entitled Rua Olivença, and located at #5.
Casa do Cruzeiro (House of the Cross)
To the east of the house he constructed a small Chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of Piety (Nossa Senhora da Piedade) to whom he prayed to save his daughter, Camila Viana, very sick and fragile at the time.
Chapel
Continue east up the street (Rua Olivença) to see on your right these…
Chalet Ruins:
Unfortunately, even the good fortunes of the rich can take a turn for the worst – an example is just up the street on the right… at Rua Olivença 1.
Chalet Ruins
Cross to the north side of Rua Olivença and stay left along the sidewalk, following the curve of the street uphill counterclockwise until you reach a crosswalk on Avenida Marginal… here cross to the north side of the street…
House of Our Lady of Fátima (aka Chalet Anita):
The Casa de Nossa Senhora da Fátima (House of Our Lady of Fátima) aka Chalet Anita was designed by the architect Norte Júnior in 1921, an important architect in the process of blending the land initially linked to Parque Estoril and sponsored by the Companhia de Crédito Edificadora Portuguesa, a consortium that financed the area around the Estoril Casino, during the First Republic.
House of Our Lady of Fátima (aka Chalet Anita)
We walked west from here along Avenida Marginal until the island at the next corner, then did an about-face to see the…
Espaço Memoria dos Exílios (Memorial Space of the Exiles):
Inaugurated in 1999 and located above the post office in a striking 1942 Modernist building designed by the architect Adelino Nunes, this museum focuses on Estoril’s community of aristocratic exiles, who fled here from northern Europe during World War II.
Espaço Memoria dos Exílios (Memorial Space of the Exiles)
From here, we made our way to the…
Hotel Palácio Estoril:
A Five-Star golf and spa hotel, this elegant hotel, popularized by Ian Fleming and his James Bond character, is a short five-minute walk from the Casino Estoril.
Hotel Palácio Estoril
The last stop on our walking tour of Estoril is the…
Casino Estoril:
The Casino Estoril, extravagant, enormous, and luxurious, today one of the largest working casinos in Europe, has been made famous by Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novel series, who had his main character James Bond as a frequent visitor here.
Casino Estoril
OEIRAS – PALACE AND GARDENS OF THE MARQUÊS DE POMBAL:
The Palace and Gardens of the Marquês de Pombal constitute one of the most notable and monumental symbols of the heritage of the Municipality of Oeiras, and has been classified as a National Monument since 1940.
Palace:
The Palace was improved and enlarged by Pombal, in works done between 1760 and 1770, when it was enriched with tiles, stucco and a noble stone entry staircase, with two levels.
Above the main courtyard are the coats-of-arms of the Carvalhos e Melos (eight pointed star among four crescents), surmounted by the Marquis’ crown.
Main courtyard and coat of arms
The Palace
Chapel:
The Chapel, outside the Main Entry, located on one of the flanks defined by the group of buildings dedicated to Nossa Senhora das Mercês (Our Lady of Mercy), was completed in 1760 – The decorative campaign took place in the following years, benefiting by the stucco work of João Grossi.
The Chapel
Grand Hall:
The Grand Hall retains skirting boards decorated with Baroque glazed tiles of battle and hunting scenes topped by a ceiling framed by lavish stucco bas-reliefs and a central allegory to a bounty (surely a reference to Oeiras’ lands).
Grand Hall
Music Room:
The Music room’s ceiling displays stuccos with musical scores and instruments framing the central medallion of Poet Orpheus playing the lyre.
Music Room
Concordia Room:
The Concordia Room catches the visitor’s attention due to Joana de Salitre’s ceiling painting of the three brothers, entitled Concordia Fratrum whose pact and efforts erected and dignified Oeiras’ estate (Sebastião José Carvalho e Melo, Monsignor Paulo de Carvalho and half-brother Captain Francisco Xavier de Mendonça Furtado).
Concordia Room
Dining Room:
Set on the ground floor facing the Norfolk Pine Terrace, the Dining Room resembles a central- European grotto with its vaulted ceiling.
Dining Room
Statues executed by Machado de Castro surround the room dedicated to the enjoyment of food and life.
Statues celebrating food and life
Scenes of meals repeated across its sections provide a sneak peek into the 18th century’s tableware, foodstuffs, domestic servants’ and nobility’s fashion, table manners, and cutlery.
Scenes of meals
Billard Room:
The room adjoining the Dining Room has a ceiling decorated with stucco art and tiles celebrating the game of billards.
Billard Room
Other Rooms:
There are other rooms, hallways, stairs to explore in the Palace.
Other roooms, hallways, stairs in the Palace
Garden of Box Hedges:
There is a garden area for relaxing just to the right of the Main Entrance and Courtyard – the Garden of Box Hedges.
Garden of Box Hedges
Terrace of Norfolk Pines (Araucaria) – Rococo Stairway:
On the south side of the Palace there is a terrace framed by two huge Norfolk Pines (Araucaria). The stairway coming off this terrace is covered with beautiful tiles illustrating, on the outer walls, episodes of Greco-Roman mythology copying French painting of composition figurative-narrative or ornamental composition, simulating various decorative motifs particularly representative of ornamental Rococo.
Terrace of Norfolk Pines (Araucaria) – Rococo Stairway
Streamlet Ribeira da Laje:
The garden space is crossed by the streamlet Ribeira da Laje, axis around which this ambitious garden is developed.
Streamlet Ribeira da Laje
Winery, Cellarage and Granary:
The Marquês de Pombal Palace Winery, which was available for public visits since June 2018, was built in the 18th century, is classified by IGESPAR as a National Monument.
Winery, Cellarage and Granary
Four Seasons Fountain:
The sculpture of the Four Seasons Fountain is of particular interest, situated in the middle of the landscaped vegetable garden.
Four Seasons Fountain
Poets Cascade:
To the south of the Four Seasons Fountain is the Poets Cascade – in the middle of the Poets Cascade we find an aquatic giant – an allegorical figure of the Tagus River, crowned by busts of Homer, Virgil, Tasso and Camões chiseled by the sculptor Machado de Castro.
Poets Cascade
After visiting the Palace and Gardens of the Marquês de Pombal, we took a short walking tour of couple of sites nearby.
District Council of Oeiras/Paços do Concelho (Old City Hall) of Oeiras:
This building was at one time part of the Marquês de Pombal Palace, serving as the Coach House.
District Council of Oeiras/Paços do Concelho (Old City Hall) of Oeiras
Chafariz (Fountain):
Just to the left of the District Council of Oeiras there are two arches and a fountain.
Chafariz (Fountain)
Pelourinho (Pillory):
Just behind these arches and the fountain is a pillory in a small plaza.
Pelourinho (Pillory)
This concludes our tour of Oeiras.