April 7, 2019:
From our home base at Casa da Pergola in Cascais, we used this day to make a side trip to Sintra to see the Pena Palace, do some Sintra shopping, see the National Palace of Sintra, and then to return to Cascais for a late afternoon walk through the town.
Breakfast Buffet at the Casa da Pergola – We started our day with a delicious buffet breakfast at Casa da Pergola, rising early to beat the crowds at Pena Palace.
Buffet Breakfast at the Casa da Pergola
Pena Palace (Palácio de Pena) – This is the most popular tourist stop in Sintra. It has a fairytale Disney-esque castle, with splashes of color, is located nearby Vila Sintra (Old Sintra), and is surrounded by a beautiful park.
Pena Palace – Photo: ABC Travel
The Palace is perched atop a hill in Sintra – Photo: Viator
History of Pena Palace
In the 19th century, Portugal had a very romantic prince, the German-born Prince Fernando of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, and King of Portugal jure uxoris (by right of [his] wife) as the husband of Queen D. Maria II, from the birth of their son in 1837 to her death in 1853.
Fernando II, King Consort of Portugal
Prince Fernando was a contemporary and cousin of Bavaria’s “Mad” King Ludwig of the other famous Disney-esque Neuschwanstein Castle and also a cousin of England’s Prince Albert (Queen Victoria’s husband).
Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau, Germany – Photo: Viator
Flamboyant Fernando hired a German architect, geologist, army officer and engineer, Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, to build a fantasy castle, mixing elements of German and Portuguese style – He ended up with a crazy Neo-fortified casserole of Gothic towers, Renaissance domes, Moorish minarets, Manueline carvings, and Disneyland playfulness
Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege
Getting There – We took a Uber to Pena Palace from Cascais – it was a relaxing 30 minute drive and relatively cheap at the time (there was also a bus option – taking a train meant returning to Lisbon and then going to Sintra).
Cost/Hours – Ticket Price – Pena Palace and Park – Adults – €13; Pena Park only – Adults – €6; additional €3 for Green Shuttle Bus roundtrip to/from Palace to bus/car drop-off point; €3 for audioguides; Pena Park – Open Summer, 9:30 am – 8 pm (last admission 7 pm); Winter, 10 am – 6 pm (last admission 5 pm); Pena Palace – Open Summer, 9:30 am – 7 pm (last ticket 6:15 pm and last admission 6:30 pm); Winter, 10 am – 6 pm (last ticket 5 pm and last admission 5:30 pm).
Drop-off Point – We were dropped off at the ticket booth for Pena Palace. We bought our tickets and picked up maps for both Pena Palace Park and Pena Palace. From the ticket booth, it is a 15-minute walk up to the castle, we bought a ticket to the Green Shuttle Bus for an additional €3 at the ticket booth (not from the driver).
Pena Palace drop-off point and ticket booth – Google Street View
Green shuttle bus – Photo: Pena-palace.com
Interpretation Center/Gardens of Queen D. Amélia – While waiting for the Green Shuttle bus, we explored the Interpretation Center and the Gardens of Queen D. Amélia by the ticket office.
Drop-off point map
The Gardens of Queen D. Amélia used to be a former vegetable garden and orchard of the monastery that existed here before the Pena Palace was built.
The Interpretation Center is housed in the Dovecote House and houses a 3D model of the Sintra landscape.
3D model of Pena Palace – Photo: GetYourGuide.com
Palace of Pena Map – Parques de Sintra
Porta da Rosa (Rose Gate) – After you hop off the Green Shuttle bus, hike up the hill…then pass through the Porta da Rosa (Rose Gate), nicknamed the Gate of the Alhambra because of its resemblance to the door of the Gate of the Justice of the Alhambra of Granada, Spain.
Walk up the hill – Google Street View
The Rose Gate (notice the hand over the arch) – Wikimedia – Georges Jansoone
After you enter the Porta da Rosa (Rose Gate), turn around and look up and see beautiful tiles and the rose that has given this gate its name.
Monumental Gate – The next gate you cross is the Monumental Gate. Between the Rose Gate and the Monumental Gate there is a small stone cross. Notice the stone carvings above the Monumental Gate (snakes, crosses, knight in armor, swords, monkeys, gargoyles, coat of arms, etc.).
Crossing between the Rose Gate and the Monumental Gate – Google Street View
Monumental Gate – Photo: Veronikas Adventure
Drawbridge – Cross the drawbridge that doesn’t draw, and continue climbing up to the top…
Drawbridge that doesn’t draw – Google Street View
Climb to the top – Google Street View
Terrace of the Triton – Before entering the Palace Interior, check out the Triton on your left, who looks at us with a bad eye…
Top of the hill – Google Street View
The Triton
This Triton, half man, half fish, emerging from its shell and sporting hair turning into vines, was called “the allegorical portico of the creation of the world” by King Fernando II.
On your right side of the Terrace of the Triton, you can see the Cruz Alta (High Cross) on the south side of the highest point of the Serra de Sintra (528m above the sea), as well as the Statue of the Knight in the distance in the Park.
Terrace of the triton – Google Street View
Cruz Alta (High Cross) – Photo: Our Tapestry
Statue of the Warrior (Estatua do Guerreiro) – Photo: Mad About Sintra
Entrance to the Interior of the Palace – Now follow the crowds to enter the interior of the Palace.
Pena Palace – Google Maps Satellite
Entrance to the Interior of the Palace – Google Street View
Entryway – Once you walk into the entryway to the interior of Pena Palace, you will first see a staircase – at the base of the staircase is a statue of King D. Fernando II.
Statue of King D. Fernando II – Photo: My Travel Journal
Manueline Cloister – At the top of the stairs is the Manueline Cloister. The Old Jeronimite Convent of the sixteenth century was organized around a small Cloister, covered with Hispanic-Moorish tiles.
Like its big brother in Belém, the Convent housed followers of St. Jerome, the hermit monk. Notice the decorations in the cloister and on the clock tower above – gargoyles, faces, crosses.
Manueline Cloister
Cloister decorations
Two Floors of the Cloister – On the lower floor of the Cloister is the Dining Room and the Royal Family’s Cupboard, and also the rooms of King D. Carlos I – On the upper floor are the Rooms of Queen Amélia.
Start on the lower floor, going counterclockwise through the rooms off the Cloister.
Royal Family’s Cupboard (Pantry) – The Royal Family’s Cupboard (Pantry) was a space to support meals that took place in the adjoining Dining Room.
Cupboard (Pantry) – Google Street View
Our view – Cupboard (Pantry) glassed off
Dining Room – This was the old refectory of the Jeronimite monks, adapted to the Private Dining Room of the Royal Family by King D. Fernando II.
Dining Room
The room is covered by vaults of Manueline style of the sixteenth century and covered with the same tiles as the Cupboard (Pantry) of the Fábrica Roseira of the nineteenth century.
Vaults of Manueline Style in the Dining Room
King’s Attendant Room – This room was for King D. Carlos I’s personal attendant – self-contained, with sitting area, desk, chests, bed, chamber pot and wash area, the personal attendant (particular) and well as the camarista (chamber maid) needed to be close to the king, as they were involved in the day to day activities.
King’s Attendant Room
Rooms of King D. Carlos I – King D. Carlos I used for his quarters the old Chapter Room of the Manueline convent, as well as some contiguous compartments which, in the time of his grandfather, King D. Fernando II, had served as servants’ quarter. King D. Carlos I stayed in modest rooms, leaving the noblest ones upstairs for the use of his wife, Queen D. Amélia.
1. Salón, Workshop or Study – The former Chapter Room during the time of the Jeronimite convent and the Room of Tea in the time of King D. Fernando II, this space was adapted to a Salón, Workshop (Atelier) or Study for King D. Carlos I.
Salón, Workshop (Atelier) or Study for King D. Carlos I
With a shaky empire crumbling around him, King D. Carlos I round refuge in art – specifically the latest style, Art Nouveau. Unfinished paintings and sketches by King D. Carlos I, entitled Nymphs and Satyrs, eerily predict the king’s unfinished rule (assassinated, along with one of his sons, Prince Luís Felipe, in 1908).
Nymphs and Satyrs – by King D. Carlos I
2. Bedroom, Water Closest and Bathroom of King D. Carlos I – Referred to as the Servants Rooms in the inventory carried out in the wake of the death of King Fernando II, the Bedroom, Water Closet, and Bathroom of King Carlos I experienced constant alterations over the course of time.
Bedroom of King D. Carlos I
The king enjoyed cutting-edge comforts, including a shower/tub imported from England.
Bathroom and Water Closet of King D. Carlos I (notice the tiling on the bidet) – Google Street View
Go up the stairs to the second floor of the Cloister, where Queen D. Amélia’s rooms are located. Queen D. Amélia lived on this noble floor of the Pena Palace, where the rooms that decades before King D. Fernando II had defined for himself and which he shared with his second wife, the Countess of Edla. Like King D. Carlos I, Queen D. Amélia had members of her entourage as the Veador (Secretary) and one or two Dames (Ladies) of Waiting.
Nancy and Georgia on the second floor of the Cloister
First Lady’s Bedroom – Room of the Veador (Secretary)– We started our clockwise tour of the upper floor at the First Lady’s Bedroom.
First Lady’s Bedroom
Bathroom of the First Lady – The bathroom of the Secretary or First Lady is beautifully decorated with azulejo tiles.
Bathroom of the First Lady
Second Lady’s Bedroom – Room of the Damas (Ladies in Waiting) – It is probable that the second room, identified in the inventories only as “Immediate room to the Toilet”, served as a dressing room. In the period of Queen D. Amélia, these rooms were occupied by the Ladies of Waiting (among them more than 30 ladies of the queen, highlighted by D. Mariana das Dores de Melo, Countess of Sabugosa, and D. Josefa de Sandoval y Pacheco).
Second Lady’s Bedroom
Queen’s Master Bedroom – This master bedroom would end up welcoming the two figures that best characterized the Palace’s history: King Fernando II (who shared it with the Countess d’Edla) and Queen D. Amélia.
Queen’s Master Bedroom
The Mudéjar decoration of the walls and ceiling is due to the interest that the artist-king had developed through the Islamic artistic tradition – Even before D. Fernando passed through Seville in 1856, this room already boasted an extensive stucco geometric pattern, with a starry core clad in gold foil, reminiscent of the luxurious decoration of the Moorish palaces of the south of the Iberian Peninsula.
Extensive stucco geometric patterns in the Queen’s Master Bedroom – Google Street View
Queen’s Toilette – Adjoining the Queen’s Master Bedroom is a bathroom. This bathroom actually features a very unusual Portable Royal Bidet.
Queen’s Toilette
Queen’s Dressing Room – The study of King D. Fernando II, it was later used as the dressing room of Queen Amélia, with a makeup table, chest and a fireplace.
Queen’s Dressing Room
Sewing or Tea Room – At one time a Sewing Room, it also functioned as a Tea Room with which Queen Amélia could meet privately with people close to her, with portraits of Queen D. Amélia and King D. Carlos I hung prominently on the walls.
Queen D. Amélia and King D. Carlos I
Study the melancholy portrait of Queen Amélia (Amélie de Orléans) – the early 1900s were a rocky time for Portugal’s royal family – The king and the eldest son were assassinated in 1908, her youngest son, Manuel, became King as Manuel II until he, his mother the Queen, and other members of the royal family had to flee Portugal during the 1910 revolution.
Tea set
Royal Family’s Private Living Room – Recently restored, this room has gone through several configurations.
Royal Family’s Private Living Room – Google Street View
The current wall mural was done in 1917 by Eugénio Cotrim (1849-1937), according to the signature above to the left at the entrance door.
Current Wall Mural
This room features a sort of architect’s desk, which has a center piece which can be raised or lowered to draw comfortably.
Architect’s desk – Google Street View
Furniture in the Royal Family’s Living Room
Queen’s Office – Identified in a publication of 1905 as a Study and Drawing Room, this room is mentioned in the Orphanological Inventory of D. Fernando II, from 1886-1887, as the Office of the Countess. In the remaining inventories and plants until the end of the monarchy and even until the 1980’s of the twentieth century it is mentioned as the Office (Workplace) of the Queen (D. Amélia).
Queen’s Office – Google Street View
Queen’s desk
Queen’s Office with Green Cabinet and phone – Google Street View
Green Cabinet
Arabian (or Visiting) Room – In the period of the Monarchy, the most intimate visits of the Royal Family entered the New Palace through the Escada das Cabaças (Cabaças or Gourd Staircase – see below), and in the opposite direction to our walking tour, they arrived at this room.
The decoration of 1854 is by the Italian set designer Paulo Pizzi – It represents an Islamic architecture under a vegetable vault – The perspective creates the illusion of a wider space beyond the confines of the room.
Arabian Room – Google Street View
Vault in the Arabian Room
Arch wallpaper
Unleashed sword
Green Room – It is obvious why this room is named the Green Room – colorful walls and ceiling, along with statues and Chinese and other artifacts highlight this room.
The Green Room – Google Street View
Entrance Hall to Queen’s Terrace – Enter the next room and step left onto the…
Entrance Hall to the Queen’s Terrace – Google Street View
Queen’s Terrace – This south-facing terrace was directly accessible through the rooms of Queen Amélia. During the period of D. Carlos and D. Amélia the metal structure was designed to support an awning in the summer months.
Queen’s Terrace – Photo: Veronikas Adventure
Especially noteworthy is the Sun Clock and Solar Quadrant (gnomon) of Portuguese origin, to which is coupled a meridian with a small cannon – The month and year times are entered in the display.
Sun Clock and Solar Quadrant – Google Street View
First Passage Room – These rooms were used as an abbey suite when the building was used as a Convent – With the adaptation to the Palace, the suite was transformed into a space of communication between the structure of the old religious building and the divisions of the New Palace, which was then built from this point.
First Passage Room
Nowadays, these rooms present works of art strongly linked to King D. Fernando II – As a collector, D. Fernando took advantage of these and other spaces of circulation as places of exhibition for his personal collection. In the First Passage Room were placed the pieces of furniture that, according to the inventory of 1886, had been here since at least 1869.
Second Passage Room – The inventory made after his death enunciates the various pieces of furniture as well as the objects exhibited, with little change for the next generation that inhabited the Pena Palace, that is, by King D. Carlos I and Queen D. Amélia.
Second Passage Room
Third Passage Room – This is a small room, with other artifacts.
Third Passage Room – Google Street View
Indian or Smoking Room – The ceiling of this room is of Islamic inspiration and reveals a taste for Mudéjar art.
Indian or Smoking Room – Google Street View
The mid-19th-century neo-rococo chandelier represents, in glass, a Morning Glory creeper with bunches of grapes.
Mid-19th-century neo-rococo chandelier
There are assorted artifacts in the room.
Cabaças (or Gourd) Staircase (Escada das Cabaças) – Next there is a small room with access to the Cabaças (or Gourd) Staircase. This staircase was the Main Entrance of the Palace for visitors – Access was made on the lower floor through a door decorated with gourds (symbol of the pilgrim), which is under the Triton Arch.
Cabaças (or Gourd) Staircase
Noble Hall – This room was initially designed to serve as the Room of Ambassadors, whose function would be to host official receptions – However, the death of Queen D. Maria II in 1853 reduced the number of state obligations of King D. Fernando II.
Noble Room
Furniture, lamps, decorative arts, everything was designed in direct relation with the architecture – The canopied sofas adapt to the dimensions of the walls and the Turkish-tochairos were placed in the limits of the central space and the higher part of the room.
Artifacts of the Noble Room
Stairway to Lower Floor – The Chambers of King D. Manuel II were closed during our visit – we descended stairs to the lower level.
Stairs to lower floor
Room of the Deer – This was supposed to be a Palace banquet hall, designed as a Hall of Knights – Here old weapons should have been displayed on the walls and heraldic stained glass windows, but the room was never finished – The central column reproduces a tree around which deer heads were arranged.
Room of the Deer
The decoration of the space was not completed, but the round table was still kept in reserve around which the guests had place for the banquets.
Round Table – Room of the Deer – Google Street View
Royal Kitchen – This was the largest of the several that existed in the Palace, destined to serve the banquets in the Deer Room – Of the three original stoves (corresponding to the three chimneys outside) there are only two – In the corner, in the background, one sees an oven.
The copper utensils originating from the Palace are marked with the acronym PP (Palacio da Pena) and the crowned monogram of King D. Fernando II.
The Kitchen
Our tour of the Pena Palace is not over. Pass under the Triton Tower and admire the tiles underneath.
Tile underneath the Triton Tower
Exit into the courtyard on the other side of the Triton Tower and climb the stairs to the pointed dome to check out the…
Entrance to Chapel – Google Street View
Getting there through the rain
Chapel of the Convent of Our Lady of Pena (Nossa Senhora da Pena) and Sacristy – As you enter, on your left, see the Sacristy (and choir), with a prominent Crucifixion statue in the center.
Sacristry (and choir) and Crucifixion Statue
The small scale nave has an ogival vaulted arch finished in 16th century tiles.
Small Scale Nave – Google Street View
The main chapel, which extends laterally in order to fit in 22 places to seat the monks, is covered by a complex vaulted arch with Manueline style and 17th century polychrome tiles.
Main Chapel – Google Street View
The Neo-Gothic stained glass window in the main chapel was commissioned by King Ferdinand in 1840 from the Kellner family workshop in Nuremberg and alludes to the foundation of the Convent of Pena in 1503.
King D. Manuel I appears in the bottom left; to the right is Vasco da Gama with a ship and the Tower of Belém in the background; above is Our Lady of Pena, Saint George, the armillary sphere, the cross of Christ and the coats of arms of Bragança, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Main Chapel Window – Flickr – Swordscookie
The highlight of the Chapel is the altarpiece in alabaster and black marble carried out between 1529 and 1532 by the French sculptor Nicolau de Chanterene (ca. 1470-1551).
Altarpiece
The Roman triumphal arch structure contains scenes from the New Testament: the Nativity, the Annunciation, Presentation at the Temple, the Adoration of the Magi and the Resurrection of Christ.
The Altarpiece – Detail
We’ve completed our Pena Palace tour. We took the Green Shuttle from the Palace back to the Drop-Off location, and took an Uber to have…
Lunch at Sintra – We had heard good things about Casa Piriquita, so this is where we had our lunch in Sintra. Specializing in pastries from the region, they have been in business continuously since 1862 (there are two locations in Sintra – Casa Piriquita and Casa Piriquite II) – open Monday – Friday, 9 am – 7:30 pm; Saturday – Sunday, 9 am – 8 pm.
Lunch at Casa Piriquita
Shopping in Sintra – After lunch, it was time to shop in Sintra.
Shopping in Sintra
Da Fonte Da Pipa Sintra Fountain – While shopping, we ran across this fountain.
Da Fonte Da Pipa (The Fountain from the Barrel/Cask)
Sampling Wines – Several places in Sintra offered free and minimally priced wine samples.
Lord Byron Inn
Lots of Wine Shops and Bars
We then walked about 3 minutes to the…
National Palace of Sintra – While the Palace dates back to Moorish times, most of what you’ll see is from the 15th century reign of King João I, with later Manueline architectural ornamentation from the 16th century. Having housed royalty for 500 years (until the monarchy was overthrown in 1910), it’s fragrant with history.
Sintra National Palace
History of the National Palace of Sintra
The history of the castle begins in the Moorish Al-Andalus era, after the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in the 8th century, when Sintra had two castles – One was located atop of a hill overlooking Sintra – It is known as the Castelo dos Mouros (Castle of the Moors), and is now a romantic ruin.
Castelo dos Mouros – Photo: GetYourGuide
The second castle was located downhill from the Castelo dos Mouros, and was the residence of the Islamic Moorish Taifa of Lisbon rulers of the region.
Its first historical reference dates from the 10th century by Arab geographer Al-Bacr – In the 12th century the village was conquered by King D. Afonso Henriques I, who took the “Sintra Palace” castle for his own use.
King D. Afonso Henriques I, nicknamed the Conqueror, the Founder or the Great:
1st King of Portugal (reigned July 26, 1139 – December 6, 1185)
The blend of Gothic, Manueline, Moorish, and Mudéjar styles in the present palace is, however, mainly the result of building campaigns in the 15th and early 16th centuries
Palace of Sintra, c. 1509
Nothing built during Moorish rule or during the reign of the first Portuguese kings survives – The earliest surviving part of the palace is the Palatine Chapel, possibly built during the reign of King Denis I in the early 14th century.
King Denis I of Portugal (reigned February 6, 1279 – January 7, 1325)
Much of the palace dates from the times of King João I, who sponsored a major building campaign starting around 1415.
King João I, reigned April 6, 1385 – August 14, 1433
Most buildings around the Central Courtyard – called the Ala Joanina (João’s Wing) – date from this campaign, including the main building of the façade with the entrance arches and the mullioned windows in Manueline and Moorish styles (called ajimezes), the conical chimneys of the kitchen that dominate the skyline of the city, and many rooms including the Swan Room (Sala dos Cisnes), the Magpie Room (Sala das Pegas); and the Arabian Room (Sala dos Árabes).
João I’s son, King Duarte (or Edward) I, was very fond of the Palace and stayed long periods here – He left a written description of the Palace that is very valuable in understanding the development and use of the building, and confirms that much of the palace built by his father has not changed much since its construction.
King Duarte (Edward) I, reigned August 14, 1433 – September 9, 1438
Another sign of the preference for this Palace is that Duarte’s successor King Afonso V was born (1432) and died (1481) in the Palace – Afonso V’s successor, King João II, was acclaimed King of Portugal here.
King João II, reigned August 28, 1481 – October 25, 1495
The building campaigns undertaken by King Manuel I were designed to embellish and improve the Palace, their most notable contribution being the decorative features in the Manueline style (doors and windows) and others in the Mudéjar style (glazed tile coverings), as well as two new structures that were added to the royal palace and enhanced its grandeur: the east wing, which was used to house King Manuel’s apartments, and the Tower crowned by the Coat of Arms Room.
King Manuel I, reigned October 25, 1495 – December 13, 1521
The National Palace of Sintra was designated a National Monument in 1910 and forms part of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra, classified by UNESCO as World Heritage Site since 1995.
In 2013, the Palace became a member of the Network of European Royal Residences.
South Terrace – Walk to the east end of this South Terrace to get this great view of the Moorish Castle at the top of the hill.
South Terrace – Google Street View
View of the Moorish Castle at the top of the hill
Looking east from the east end of the South Terrace, you’ll see a view of Sintra’s Town Hall.
Sintra’s Town Hall
From the west end of the South Terrace, you can see a view of Sintra’s Pillory.
Sintra’s Pillory
Self-Guided Tour of the Sintra National Palace – We can now start our self-guided tour of Sintra National Palace.
Official Map of the National Palace of Sintra – Parques de Sintra
Floor Plan – National Palace of Sintra
Map of the National Palace of Sintra
1. Fountain of the Entrance:
This is where you enter the Palace – Walk up the steps by the fountain and look back – you’ll see great views of the Serra de Sintra (Hills of Sintra).
Walk up to the fountain – Google Street View
Fontaine Terreiro Rainha Dona Amélia at the entrance to the Palace – Wikimedia – Chabe01
Look back at the great views of the Serra de Sintra (Hills of Sintra) – Photo: Wandering Wagars
You can buy your tickets to the left of the fountain as you enter the Palace (we should have Combo Tickets already including the National Palace – Skip the audio-guides – Rick Steves says they are too dry, take a Palace map if you don’t already have one).
Walk up the stairs to the next level of the Palace…
Walk up to the next level – Google Street View
Then pass through hallways until you reach the…
2. Archers’ Room:
Archer’s Room
This is a transitional room, it has great views of the Serra de Sintra (Hills of Sintra). There is also a 3D model of the National Palace of Sintra.
3D Model of the National Palace of Sintra
Enter the room to your left as you enter from the stairs…
3. Room of the Swans:
Built during the reign of King João I, it is the largest space of the Palace, where the most important events took place – It was a historic setting for celebrations and receptions, and even today official banquets are held here, such as those held on the occasion of visits by foreign heads of state – It was called the “Great Room” in the period of João I and the “Center of the Infantes” from the time of King D. Manuel I.
Room of the Swans
The room derives its name from all the colorfully painted swans on the ceiling (30 octagonal sections each containing a white swan) – Looking closely at the paintings, tourists will note that each of the birds is different from the others and wears a gilded collar perhaps indicating the privilege of wealth – the King’s daughter loved swans so much, the king decorated the ceiling with her favorite bird.
Swans on the ceiling
Detail – Swans on the ceiling
Swans aren’t the only animals in the room, though – Check out the ceramic soup tureens designed in the shape of animals and birds.
Ceramic soup-tureens – animals or birds – Photos: GlobalPhotos.org
Go through the door on the far right and down the stairs to the…
4. Central Patio:
This was a fortified medieval palace, so rather than having fancy gardens outside, it has a stay-awhile courtyard within its protective walls D. João I organized his quarters around the Central Patio, with various functions, partly referred to in the manuscript Medição das Casas de Cintra, which King D. Duarte, his son, left.
Central Patio – Google Street View
Its intimate setting, tiled flooring and the sound of running water still seem to evoke the Arab architectural tradition – Noteworthy is the impressive perspective on the gigantic double kitchen chimneys, beyond the column (the center of the courtyard). They provide powerful suction that removes the smoke from the kitchen and also create a marvelous open-domed feeling within the kitchen (as you’ll see towards the end of the tour of the Palace).
Double Kitchen Chimneys
Patio Statue
Grotto of the Baths:
Adjacent to the Central Patio, the Grotto of the Baths is decorated in tiles and stucco from the second half of the 18th century – The rococo decorative program of stucco includes the Creation of the World (central panel), the Four Seasons and Mythological themes.
Grotto of the Baths – Google Street View
The blue and white wall tile panels represent fountains, gardens and gallant scenes and hide an ingenious cross-fountain system – The water, flowing from two lines of tiny holes that surround the whole space, refreshed the environment on hotter days and surprised the ladies, in a “gallant game” so according to the taste of the time.
Grotto of the Baths – Photos: Wikimedia
Go back up the stairs towards the Room of the Swans and turn right at the top of the stair landing…
Turn right here – Google Street View
to enter the…
Room of the Magpies:
Already called “Chamber of Magpies” by King D. Duarte, in the fifteenth century, in this room were welcomed the notables of the kingdom and foreign ambassadors. Of note are the tile decorations and the composition of the ceiling – the obvious reason for the naming of the room.
Room of the Magpies – Google Street View
Wall tiles
There are 136 jaunty magpies (pegas) painted on the ceiling, each one holding in its beak a shield with the king’s motto,”Por Bem” – “For Better”, and, in one its claws, a rose.
According to legend, King João I’s reaction to his queen Philippa of Lancaster after being caught in flagrante with a lady-in-waiting was to mutter foi por bem – “it was for the best” – But angered by the subsequent whispering taking place behind his back, the dallying monarch had the ceiling painted with chattering magpies as a rebuke to the court women and their idle gossip.
The Magpie Ceiling
The south facing window opens onto the Serra de Sintra, surmounted by the Moorish Castle, and the Audience Patio, with its Renaissance porch – In this, according to tradition, King D. Sebastião listened to a reading of Luís de Camões’ Os Lusíadas, the great Portuguese epic that tells of the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama (1498).
South facing Window – Google Street View
Pass through the interesting doorway to the left of the fireplace into the…
Pass through the doorway to the left of the fireplace – Google Street View
6. Quarters of King D. Sebastiao:
King D. Sebastião will have used this room as a sleeping chamber during his stays in Sintra – In the fifteenth century, in the description of the Palace made by D. Duarte, this space is referred to as Câmara de Ouro – This designation probably derives from an earlier golden decoration of the ceiling or walls.
King D. Sebastião bed
King D. Sebastião’s portrait is on the wall next to the bed…
King D. Sebastião, reigned June 11, 1557 – August 4, 1578
King D. Sebastião
He was a gung-ho, medieval-type monarch who, despite his lack of a son and heir, went on Crusade in 1578 to battle in Africa, following the Moors there even after they were chased out of Europe.
King D. Sebastião
The Portuguese army of 17,000 men, including a significant number of foreign mercenaries hired from the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, Spain, and the Italian States, and almost all of the country’s nobility, sailed at the beginning of June, 1578 from Lisbon – They visited Cádiz, where they expected to find Spanish volunteers who failed to appear, then crossed into Morocco.
At Arzila, Sebastião joined his ally Abu Abdullah Mohammed II, who had around 6,000 Moorish soldiers and, against the advice of his commanders, marched into the interior.
At the Battle of Alcácer Quibir (Battle of the Three Kings), the Portuguese army was routed by Abd Al-Malik at the head of more than 60,000 men.
Sebastião was almost certainly killed in battle at the age of 24 – He was last seen riding headlong into the enemy lines.
“Sebastianists” in Portugal awaited his mystical return until the 19th century.
With King D. Sebastião missing, Portugal was left in unstable times with only D. Sebastião’s great uncle (King D. Henrique) as heir.
The new king died within two years, and the crown passed to his great uncle, King Philip II of Spain (King Philip I of Portugal), leading to 60 years of Spanish rule (1580-1640).
King Philip II of Spain claimed to have received King D. Sebastião’s remains from Morocco and buried them in the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon, after he ascended to the Portuguese throne in 1580 – The body could not be identified as Sebastião’s, however, which left some people unconvinced of his death.
Because there was the belief that King Philip II of Spain was not the rightful heir, several imposter pretenders arose to claim the throne – in fact, during the time of Spanish rule, four different pretenders claimed to be the returned King D. Sebastião – The last of these pretenders, who was in fact an Italian, was hanged in 1619, while another was obtained by the Spanish from Venice, tried, found guilty and hanged in 1603.
In the long term, many myths and legends about Sebastião appeared, the principal one being that he was a great Portuguese patriot, the “sleeping king” who would return to help Portugal in its darkest hour (similar to the British King Arthur, the German Frederick Barbarossa or the Byzantine Constantine XI Palaeologus).
He came to be known by symbolic names: O Encoberto (The Hidden One) who would return on a foggy morning to save Portugal, or as O Desejado (The Desired One).
The sixteenth-century wall décor features embossed tiles with grapevine, topped with bordered tiles trimmed with fleur-de-lis shaped pebbles.
16th-Century wall décor – Google Street View
The frame of the windows presents tiles with the armillary sphere, emblem of King D. Manuel I.
Window frames present tiles with the armillary sphere – Google Street View
The corn-on-the-cob motif topping the tilework is a reminder of the America discoveries – these tiles were the first Portuguese tiles.
The Celestial Globe (42 cm in diameter) is of golden copper and depicts the celestial sphere, with representations of the constellations and signs of the zodiac – Signed and dated Schissler the Elder, Augsburg, 1575.
Celestial Globe – Photo: Islamic History and Travel
Engraved chest
Notice the ebony, silver and copper headboard of the Italian Renaissance bed.
Ebony, silver and copper headboard – Google Street View
Enter through the door by the bed to see the…
Pass through door to the left of the bed – Google Street View
7. Room of the Mermaids:
The room off the right side of the fireplace of the Room of the Magpies, it is obviously named for its ceiling.
Room of the Mermaids ceiling – Google Street View
According to D. Duarte’s description, it was here that in the reign of King João I there was the royal wardrobe, where pieces of clothing, jewels and personal objects were stored.
Room of the Mermaids
The rectangular door in white marble, giving access to a spiral staircase linking directly to the Arabian Room, will have been added later.
Door linking to the Arabian Room – Google Street View
Reenter the Quarters of King D. Sebastião, and proceed through the north door to the…
North Door – Quarters of King D. Sebastião – Google Street View
8. Julius Caesar Room:
This room is named for the Flemish tapestry that hangs at the end of this room.
Julius Caesar Room – Google Street View
Caesar and Spurina, Unknown, c. 1560-1570
This tapestry illustrates the episode when the Roman Emperor met the soothsayer Spurina, who warned him of his eminent death. The center of the composition is occupied by Caesar, accompanied by other Roman soldiers, and the soothsayer, wearing a turban and holding a torch.
On the right, above a brazier, is a fire burning and giving off clouds of smoke, in the midst of which one can see several animals – At the foot of this composition are depictions of a skull, two swords, a shield and a cat.
In the background, on the left, is a military camp – The border, edged with vegetal motifs and with children’s heads in the corners, is decorated with flowers and fruits interspersed with female figures and children.
At the top is a cartouche with the following inscription:
IVLIVS HIC FVRIAM CAESAR
FVGITAT FVRIENTEM COGNOSCENS
SVBITO BESTIA QVOD FVERAT
“Here in furor Julius Caesar
flees raging animals
with a sudden awareness”
On the north wall, there is a picture of the Madonna and child:
Virgin and Child, Casare da Sesto, c. Early 16th Century
There is a very interesting picture on the south wall of the room. The painting seems to show a muscular Christ in a negligee holding an ermine…
The inscription on this painting reads “Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis” or “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us”.
John the Baptist – workshop or follower of Francesco Raibolini
It turns out the painting is not of Christ, but of John the Baptist…
Continue through the north door to the…
12. Crown Room:
A passageway leading to outside patios as well as other rooms, this room is decorated with a relief tile panel with the motif of a head of corn in the shape of a fleur-de-lis, from the 16th century.
Crown Room – Google Street View
Above the ceiling shows why this is called the “Crown Room”.
Crown Room Ceiling – Google Street View
Go outside to the…
14. Patio of Diana (and above the 15. Patio of Leo at a lower level):
This patio features a simple fountain.
Fountain – Patio of Diana
Go up the stairs to the…
Go up the stairs – Google Street View
16. Galley Hall:
Featuring fine paintings and ceramic pieces, the ceiling also features maritime scenes with galleys flying the flags of the Ottomans, Dutch, and Portuguese, who were the major naval powers of the period.
Galley Hall – Google Street View
Galley Hall ceiling
Galley Hall ceiling detail
Go through the door at the far end of the room to enter the…
17. Priests Quarters:
Small, sparsely decorated rooms.
Priests Quarters – Google Street View
Pass from these rooms into the…
19. Hall of the Coats:
Named for the long tapestry hanging along the room, with the prominently displayed “Portuguese Royal Coat of Arms”.
Tapestry with the Portuguese Royal Coat of Arms
This Heraldic tapestry of the “verdure” or “millefleurs” type, with a blue-black background, decorated with plants and floral elements covering the whole field, is intertwined with ribbons.
This piece has the Portuguese Royal coat-of-arms at its center, with the shield surmounted by the crest with the winged serpent of the House of Avis. Depicted in each of the four corners is the armillary sphere, the emblem of King Dom Manuel I – This tapestry was probably commissioned by members of the House of Avis, or else it was a gift offered to one of them, believed to have been made in Brussels, the main Flemish production center at that time.
From the mid-15th to the late 16th century, Portugal ordered significant sets of tapestries from Flanders, although heraldic tapestries with Portuguese coats-of-arms are extremely rare.
Before continuing to the next room, view the Manueline entrance portal which still bears the marks of the master masons who performed it, in the first quarter of the 16th century.
Manueline entrance portal – Google Street View
20. Room of the Coats (or Blazons Hall):
This room represents the maximum exponent of the Manueline intervention in the Palace and the most important European heraldic room. In the western wing and highest point of the Palace and orientated by the cardinal points, this room was erected by the Hall of the Coats, in the area formerly called “Mecca”.
Room of the Coats – Google Street View
In the octave dome are the Portuguese Royal coats-of-arms, surmounted by the winged serpent of the reigning dynasty of Avis;
Octave Dome – Wikimedia – deror_avi
In the inscription that surrounds the room can be read a reference to the represented coat-of-arms:
“Honoring all the noble families who have been loyal to the king”
The paintings date, for the most part, from the sixteenth century – In the seventeenth century, ornate gilt carvings were added, and at the beginning of the eighteenth century the walls received the panoramic panels of “blue and white” tiles depicting bucolic and hunting scenes, inspired by period engravings and attributed to the artist known as Mestre PMP (the acronym that has marked some of his works).
Looking out the windows of the Room of Coats, you’ll see the Garden of Princes (18.) to the south and the Patio of the Pools (21.) to the west.
Garden of Princes
Return to the Hall of Coats and turn right at the door at the far end to enter a…
Long Hallway:
Long Hallway – Google Street View
Just past the doorway straight ahead, turn right into the…
22. Prison of D. Afonso VI:
King D. Afonso VI suffered from a fever as a child that left his left side paralyzed and him mentally unstable – After he became king, he was removed by his wife the Frenchwoman Queen Maria Francisca Isabel of Savoy and by his virile brother, D. Pedro; for his inability to properly reign – D. Pedro then became Regent and eventually King as D. Pedro II when his brother died.
Queen Maria Francisca Isabel fled the palace and took refuge in a convent, from there insisting that the cathedral chapter annul her marriage on the grounds of her husband’s impotence – King D. Afonso VI was compelled to sign a document relinquishing his kingdom in favor or D. Pedro and his legitimate children, with the proviso that he would receive an annual income of 100,000 cruzadores.
King D. Afonso VI was first exiled to the island of Terceira in the Azores for seven years, then when he returned to Sintra, he remained imprisoned and watched here in this room for nine years by order of his brother – King D. Afonso VI would eventually die in this room in 1683 – The azulejo floor of his chamber is said to have been worn away by his incessant passing back and forth.
Meanwhile King D. Pedro II married King D. Afonso’s wife Maria Francisca Isabel.
King D. Afonso VI
It is one of the oldest rooms of the Palace, the only one whose window has an iron bars – The rare Mudéjar ceramic pavement probably dates back to the 15th century.
Prison of D. Afonso VI – Google Street View
Bars on the windows – Google Street View
Worn floor
The next room to the right at the end of the hallway is the…
23. Chinese or Pagoda Room:
This room is located in one of the oldest areas of the Palace, where the royal chambers have been located prior to the works of King D. João I.
It is marked by the presence of a remarkable piece: a monumental Pagoda of the Qing dynasty, built in China in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.
Chinese or Pagoda Room – Google Street View
Pagoda detail
Notice the intricate chandelier.
Chandelier
Now, go down the staircase… At the bottom of the stairs, you’ll see two signs: Go to the right to the…
Two signs at the bottom of the stairs – Google Street View
24. Room of the Chests (Sala dos Cofres – Coffee Room):
A small room with a few chests (literally treasure chests) (this room is also called the Coffee Room), just outside the paned door to the right is the Patio of the Masks (11.).
Room of the Chests/Coffee Room – Google Street View
Enter the hallway to the left, then, turn left again and you’ll enter an overlook of the…
26. Palatine Chapel:
The Palatine Chapel is beautifully displayed on the floor below you – two, small undecorated adjoining rooms act as a type of balcony to the Palatine Chapel below – they are called jointly the Tribune Chapel (25.)
Palatine Chapel – Google Street View
The Palatine Chapel is a Christian religious space from the period of King D. Dinis (beginning of the 14th century) with the invocation of the Holy Spirit represented in the frescoes of the walls by the motif of the doves carrying an olive branch in the beak.
Palatine Chapel Altar
Both the ceramic floor and the wooden ceiling are the earliest examples of Mudéjar work in Portugal.
Carved Mudéjar Ceiling
Exit these two rooms and take the staircase down to reach the…
9. Arabian Room:
Probably D. João I’s preferred bedroom in the fourteenth century – through a spiral staircase, this room communicated with the king’s “wardrobe” (Room of the Mermaids).
The current decoration, from the Manueline period, integrates swathes of azulejo tiles of various techniques, highlighting the geometric composition of three-dimensional effect.
The sculptural set of the central fountain, sculpted as Neptune, with swans and mermaids surrounding him and an artichoke on tope – in gilded bronze, accentuates the exoticism of the space.
Arabian Room – Google Street View
The room was once supplied with water that trickled from the fountain sunk in the center of the floor.
The Fountain was a source of water
Pass to the next room, which is the…
Pass to the next room
10. Guest Quarters:
These quarters are called the Guest Quarters and functioned as the bedchamber of King D. João I.
Guest Quarters
Table in the Guest Quarters
Continue on to the…
27. Royal Kitchen:
Famous for its monumental double chimneys, 33 meters high, which mark the profile of the historic town of Sintra – The Royal Kitchen, dating from the early fifteenth century, was designed for large hunting banquets, one of the favorite occupations of the court and nobility (you can get really dizzy by looking up and spinning around three times).
The Double Chimneys
With all the latest in cooking technology, the palace chef could roast an entire cow on the spit, and keep the king’s plates warm in the iron dish warmer (with drawers below for the charcoal).
The Spit and Iron Dish Warmer
In the interior, a series of furnaces and two large furnaces stand out, as well as a stove and a tinned copper kitchen train, consisting of kettles, fishmongers, pots, pans, casseroles and pans.
Royal Kitchen
Pass on to the room on the left as you exit the kitchen with the carved stone ropes over the door… the…
Entry to the Manueline Room
28. Manueline Room:
Look out the windows at the far corner of this last room and you’ll get good views of the Palácio Valenças, and just above it, the Casa Dos Penedos.
Manueline Room
Exit the Palace. This concludes our tour of the National Palace of Sintra.
Late Afternoon Walk in Cascais – We took an Uber back to Cascais from Sintra and enjoyed a late afternoon walk through the town of Cascais.
Cascais Street Art – We saw several street art pieces as we wandered around Cascais…
Street Art in Cascais
Ceramicarte – Cerâmica Artística De Cascais – Our hostess at Casa da Pergola recommended we visit this famous Cascais art gallery, specializing in ceramic arts, but other art as well. Open Monday – Friday, 10:30 am – 6 pm, Saturday, 10:30 am – 1 pm, Closed Sunday; Largo da Assunção 3 e 4, 2750-298 Cascais; +351 21 484 0170; Nancy wanted to purchase an item from Oxaca, Mexico, but balked at the cost…
Ceramicarte – Cerâmica Artística De Cascais – Google Maps
Interested, but not at that price
Thus concludes another day in Portugal…