Quinta da Regaleira Palace Sintra
The Quinta da Regaleira Palace in Sintra is a decorative 20th century residence which is situated on Rua Barbosa do Bocage. It is a beautiful building, surrounded by a lush green park. After purchasing the ticket the very first things I saw were the Azulejo tiles. The pattern at the top resemble to those one in the Great Mosque of Cordoba in Spain.
The Regaleira Chapel
After walking for few minutes, I came in front of the Regaleira Church. It is a small free standing chapel and there are references to the Knights Templar and their Cross pattee is visible at the top of the building. Although, this chapel is small in size but it is richly decorated. It was the first of the buildings constructed in 1904.
This chapel is an interesting place to visit for its architecture and hidden treasures inside. The Order of Christ Cross is painted inside the chapel. In one of the frescoes, Saint Anthony is depicted during his Sermon to the Fish. There appears to be a tomb in the crypt of the chapel.
History
A cave like passage from the chapel leads to the main palace. This palace is a magical 20th century residence in the town of Sintra. Carvalho Monteiro, who made his fortune in Brazil and ordered the construction of Regaleira Palace. It was designed by Luigi Manini, it is one of its kind, beautiful, enchanting and equally mysterious.
The palace contains five floors (a ground floor, three upper floors, and a basement). The property was always in private hands, the first Francisco Alberto Guimarães de Castro acquired the land in 1715 when it was known as Quinta da Torre.
Monteiro acquired the estate in 1892, he owned some land around the quinta and in 1896 bought more land from the Marquês de Praia e Monforte adding to the estate. Monteiro lived in the Reinassance House in the grounds whilst supervising the counstruction of the palace which began in 1905. Monteiro had a vast library and a passion for collecting books, shells, butterflies, antiques and clocks. Quinta da Regaleira was opened to the public in the summer of 1998.
The Billiard Room or Monarch’s Room has paintings engraved into the wooden ceiling of the Portuguese monarchs from the first King Afonso Henriques to King João V. There are some smaller rooms in the palace, which were used by the servants.
A spiral staircase leads to the upper parts of the palace and it offers wonderful views of the surroundings. On the top, on a clear day, one could see the Castle of the Moors and the Pena Palace. Weather cock sits atop one of the towers in the Quinta da Regaleira. The rooftop alchemist’s laboratory, laboratory, accessed by a private stairway from the library in the turret. All in all, Monteiro’s ideas blended with Mannini to create this magnificent palace.
