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| National Palace of Mafra | |
|---|---|
Palácio Nacional de Mafra | |
.jpg) Main façade of the palace | |
 Interactive map of National Palace of Mafra | |
| General information | |
| Location | Mafra, Portugal |
| Coordinates | 38°56′13″N9°19′33″W / 38.9369°N 9.3258°W /38.9369; -9.3258 |
 Interactive map of Palace of Mafra | |
| Official name | Royal Building of Mafra – Palace, Basilica, Convent, Cerco Garden and Hunting Park (Tapada) |
| Criteria | Cultural: (iv) |
| Reference | 1573 |
| Inscription | 2019 (43rdSession) |
| Area | 1,213.17 ha (2,997.8 acres) |
| Buffer zone | 693.239 ha (1,713.03 acres) |
| Type | Non-movable |
| Criteria | National Monument |
| Designated | 10 January 1907 |
| Reference no. | IPA.00006381 |
ThePalace of Mafra (Portuguese:Palácio de Mafra), also known as thePalace-Convent of Mafra and theRoyal Building of Mafra (Real Edifício de Mafra), is a monumentalBaroque andNeoclassical palace-monastery located inMafra, Portugal, some 28 kilometres fromLisbon. Construction began in 1717 under KingJohn V of Portugal and was completed in 1755.
The palace was classified as aNational Monument in 1910 and was also a finalist in theSeven Wonders of Portugal. On 7 July 2019, the Royal Building of Mafra – Palace,Basilica, Convent, Cerco Garden and Hunting Park (Tapada) was inscribed as aUNESCO World Heritage Site.[1]
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Thepalace, which also served as aFranciscanfriary, was built during the reign of KingJohn V (1717–1750), as consequence of avow the king made in 1711, to build a convent if his wife,Maria Anna of Austria,[2] gave him offspring. The birth of his first daughter the InfantaBarbara of Portugal, prompted construction of the palace to begin. The palace was conveniently located near royal hunting preserves, and was usually a secondary residence for the royal family.
The construction was funded in large part from the proceeds ofColonial Brazil, where gold and then diamonds were mined in vast quantities.[3]
This vast complex, largely built ofLioz stone, is among the most sumptuous Baroque buildings in Portugal and at 40,000 m², one of the largest royal palaces. Designed by the German architectJoão Frederico Ludovice, the palace was built symmetrically from a central axis, occupied by thebasilica, and continues lengthwise through the mainfaçade until two major towers. The structures of the convent are located behind the main façade. The building also includes a major library, with about 30,000 rare books.[4][5] The basilica is decorated with several Italian statues[6] and includes six historicalpipe organs[7] and twocarillons, composed of 98 bells.[8][9]
The exact site was chosen in 1713 and purchased in 1716. Construction began by the laying of the first stone on November 17, 1717, with a grand ceremony in the presence of the king, his entire court and the CardinalPatriarch of Lisbon.
Initially it was a relatively small project for a friary of 13Capuchinfriars, who were to observe strict poverty. However, when the flow ofgold anddiamonds from thePortuguese colony of Brazil started to arrive inLisbon in abundance, the King changed his plans and announced the construction of a sumptuous palace[10] along with a much enlarged friary. This immense wealth allowed the King to be a generous patron of the arts.
He appointed an architectJoão Frederico Ludovice as director of the royal works at Mafra. Ludwig had studied architecture inRome and knew contemporary Italian art. The extent of Ludwig's responsibility is unclear, as several other architects were involved in this project: theMilanese builder Carlos Baptista Garbo, Custódio Vieira,Manuel da Maia and even his own son António. However the application of the same architectural style over the whole building suggests the work of Ludwig as the head-architect in charge of the Royal Office of Works (Real Obra).
Construction lasted 13 years and mobilized a vast army of workers from the entire country (a daily average of 15,000 but at the end climbing to 30,000 and a maximum of 45,000), under the command of António Ludovice, the son of the architect.[11] In addition 7,000 soldiers were assigned to preserve order at the construction site.[12] They used 400 kg of gunpowder to blast through the bedrock for the laying of foundations. There was even a hospital for the sick or wounded workers. A total of 1,383 workers died during the construction.[13]
The façade is 220 meters long. The whole complex covers 37,790 m2 with about 1,200 rooms, more than 4,700 doors and windows, and 156 stairways.[14][15]
When complete the building consisted of a friary capable of sheltering 330 friars, along with a royal palace and a huge library of 30,000 books, embellished withmarble, exotic woods and countless artworks taken from France, Flanders and Italy, which includedsix monumental pipe organs and the twocarillons.
The basilica and the convent were inaugurated on the day of the King's 41st birthday on October 22, 1730. The festivities lasted for 8 days and were of a scale never seen before in Portugal. The basilica was dedicated to Our Lady and to SaintAnthony of Padua.
However the building was not finished. The lantern on the cupola was completed in 1735. Work continued until 1755, when the work force was needed in Lisbon after the devastation of theLisbon earthquake.[16]
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The palace was not occupied permanently by the royalty, who considered the rooms too gloomy. Nonetheless, it was a popular destination for the members of the royal family who enjoyed hunting in the nearby game preserve, theTapada Nacional de Mafra. During the regency of PrinceJohn the palace was inhabited for a whole year in 1807. The Prince was responsible for a partial renovation of the building by some well-known artists. However, with the Frenchinvasion of Portugal (1807) theroyal family fled to Brazil, taking with them some of the best pieces of art and furniture in the building.Jean-Andoche Junot took up residence in the palace, to be driven out in turn byWellington.
In 1834, after theLiberal Wars, QueenMaria II ordered the dissolution of thereligious orders and the convent was abandoned by the Franciscans. During the last reigns of theHouse of Braganza, the palace was mainly used as a base for hunting. In 1849 the monastery part of the building was assigned to the military, a situation still in use today.[citation needed]
The last king of Portugal,Manuel II, following theproclamation of the republic, left on 5 October 1910 from the palace to the nearby coastal village ofEriceira on his way to exile. The palace was declared a national monument in 1907.[citation needed] At present, the building isconserved by theDireção-Geral do Património Cultural, which carried out several recovery programs, including the conservation of the mainfaçade. A major restoration of the historical pipe organs began in 1998 with the collaboration of foreign experts and was finished in 2010.[17] The restoration won the Europa Nostra 2012 award.[18]
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The imposing façade, built of locallimestone, is 220 m long and faces the town of Mafra. At each end of the façade stands a square tower with a bulbous dome, such as found in Central Europe. The church, built in white marble, is located in the centre of the main façade, symmetrically flanked on both sides by the royal palace. John V, wishing to rival the splendour of Rome, had sought architectural advice from his ambassador to theVatican, who sent him small-scale models of important Roman religious buildings. The benedictal balcony at its centre is clearly mirrored on the balcony ofSt. Peter's Basilica in Rome. But this balcony is rather intended for the King, as a symbol of his power, than for the benedictions by aprelate.
The two church towers (68 m high) are inspired by the towers ofSant'Agnese in Agone (by the Roman Baroque architectFrancesco Borromini). Their twocarillons contain a total of 92 church bells, founded inAntwerp. The story goes that the Flemish bell-founders were so astonished by the size of their commission, that they asked to be paid in advance. The King retorted by doubling the offered amount. These carillons constitute the largest historical collection in the world.
The two towers are connected by two rows ofCorinthian columns. The top row contains the statues ofSt. Dominic andSt. Francis, sculpted fromCarrara marble, standing in a niche on each side of the balcony. The lower row contains the statues ofSt. Clara and St.Elisabeth of Hungary.
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The spacious royal apartments are situated on the second floor. The apartments of the king are situated at the end of the palace while the apartment of the queen is 200m away at the other end. Such was this distance that, when the king left his apartment towards the apartment of the queen, this was announced to the queen by the sound of a trumpet.
As King John VI had taken with him some of the best pieces of art and furniture in the building when the royal family fled in 1807 from the advancing French troops to Brazil, most rooms had to be redecorated in the original style. The Huntingtrophy room (Sala dos Troféus) is decorated with numerous skulls ofdeer, the furniture is constructed of antlers and covered with deerskin and even the candleholders are made of deer antlers.
The Benediction Gallery (Sala da Benção) borders at the upper level of the basilica. The royal family could here attend Mass, seated at a window opening unto the basilica. The bust of John V in this hall is a work of the ItalianAlessandro Giusti. The Throne Room, the Guard Room and the Room of Goddess Diana are decorated with murals by artist such asCirilo Wolkmar Machado,Bernardo Oliveira Góis andVieira Lusitano.
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The church is built in the form of aLatin cross with a length of 63 m. It is rather narrow (16.5 m), an impression accentuated by the height of itsnave (21.5 m). The vestibule (Galilee porch) contains a group of large sculptures in Carrara marble, representing the patron saints of several monastic orders.
The interior makes abundantly use of local rose-coloured marble, intermingled with white marble in different patterns. The multi-coloured designs of the floor are repeated on the ceiling. Thebarrel vault rests on fluted Corinthian semicolumns standing between the side chapels. The chapels in the transept contain altarpieces in jasper made by sculptors from the School of Mafra. The side aisles display 58 marble statues commissioned from the best Roman sculptors of their time. The All Saint's chapel in the transept is screened from the crossing by iron railings with bronze ornaments, made inAntwerp.
The choir has a magnificent giant candleholder with seven lamps sprouting from the mouth of seven rolled-up snakes. Above the main altar, inserting into the ceiling, is a gigantic jasper crucifix of 4.2 m, flanked by two kneeling angels, made by the School of Mafra. The cupola over the crossing was also inspired by the cupola ofSant'Agnese in Agone (by the Roman Baroque architectFrancesco Borromini). This 70 m-high cupola with a smalllantern atop, is carried by four finely sculpted arcs in rose and white marble.
There are six organs, four of which are located in the transept, constituting a rather uncommon ensemble. These were built by Joaquim Peres Fontanes andAntónio Xavier Machado e Cerveira between 1792 and 1807 (when the French troops occupied Mafra). They were made out of partially gilded Brazilian wood. The largest pipe is 6 m high and has a diameter of 0.28 m. King John V had commissioned liturgical vestments from masterembroiderers fromGenoa andMilan, such as Giuliano Saturni and Benedetto Salandri, and from France. They attest of superb quality and workmanship by their embroidering in gold technique and the use of silk thread in the same colour.
The religious paintings in the basilica and the convent constitute one of the most significant 18th century collections in Portugal. They include works by the ItaliansAgostino Masucci,Corrado Giaquinto,Francesco Trevisani,Pompeo Batoni and some Portuguese students in Rome such asVieira Lusitano andInácio de Oliveira Bernardes. The sculpture collection contains works by almost every major Roman sculptor from the first half of the 18th century. At that time, it represented the biggest single order done by a foreign power in Rome and still is one of the biggest collections in existence.
The parish of Mafra (Santo André de Mafra) and theRoyal and Venerable Confraternity of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Mafra (Portuguese:Real e Venerável Irmandade do Santíssimo Sacramento de Mafra) have their headquarters in the basilica.
On 10 November 2020,Pope Francis granted acanonical coronation to the image ofOur Lady of Solitude of the basilica, guarded by the Confraternity of the Most Blessed Sacrament.[19]
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TheRococo library, situated at the back of the second floor, is truly the highlight of the palace, rivalling the grandeur of the library of theMelk Abbey in Austria. Built byManuel Caetano de Sousa, this library is 88 m long, 9.5 m wide and 13 m high. The magnificent floor is covered with tiles of rose, grey and white marble. The wooden bookshelves in Rococo style are situated on the sidewalls in two rows, separated by a balcony with a wooden railing. They contain over 36,000 leather-bound volumes, attesting of the extent of western knowledge from the 14th to the 19th century. Among them, are many valuable bibliographical jewels, such asincunabula. These beautiful finished volumes were bound in the local workshop (Livraria) in therocaille style (also by Manuel Caetano de Sousa).
The library is known for homing bats which protect the books from insect damage.[20] The library's bat colony includesgrey long-eared bats andserotine bats.[21]
The library was used inGulliver's Travels (1996) as the Great Chamber of War for the Emperor of Lilliput.[22]
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The rectangle behind the church and the palace houses thefriary of the Franciscan friars of Arrábida Order (Ordem de São Francisco da Província da Arrábida) with cells for about 300 friars in long corridors on several floors. Between 1771 and 1791 this monastery was occupied by theHermit Friars of St. Augustine.
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The Mafra School of Sculpture was founded during the reign of KingJoseph I of Portugal, successor of King John V. As the Mafra National Palace had a great need for sculptors, local and from abroad, it became the location of asculpture academy headed by the ItalianAlessandro Giusti (1715–1799).
Among the teachers were several important sculptors, such asJosé de Almeida (1709–1769),Claude de Laprade (1682–1738) andGiovanni Antonio da Padova (who created most of the statues for the cathedral ofÉvora).
The academy was awarded many commissions by theAugustinians from the monastery, resulting in the many marble statues andretables in marble andjasper in the basilica. This academy produced several generations of Portuguese sculptors, such asJoaquim Machado de Castro (1731–1822).
A major reference to the construction of the palace is made in the novelBaltasar and Blimunda (Memorial do Convento), written by the PortugueseNobel laureateJosé Saramago. The main character, Baltasar, born in Mafra,[23] works on the construction of the palace. Saramago makes a detailed description of the building process, including the transport of a giant stone from the quarry to the building site (which Baltasar assists with), depicting it as a torture for those who helped build the palace.
Media related toPalácio Nacional de Mafra at Wikimedia Commons
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