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| Pena Palace | |
|---|---|
Palácio da Pena | |
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 Interactive map of the Pena Palace area | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival,Neo-Manueline |
| Location | Sintra, Portugal |
| Construction started | Middle Ages |
| Completed | 1854 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege |
| Other designers | Ferdinand II of Portugal |
| Part of | Cultural Landscape ofSintra |
| Criteria | Cultural: (ii), (iv), (v) |
| Reference | 723 |
| Inscription | 1995 (19thSession) |
| Type | Non-movable |
| Criteria | National Monument |
| Designated | 10 January 1907 |
| Reference no. | IPA.00006134 |
ThePena Palace (Portuguese:Palácio da Pena) is aRomanticist palace inSão Pedro de Penaferrim, in themunicipality ofSintra, on thePortuguese Riviera. The castle stands on the top of a hill in theSintra Mountains above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen fromLisbon and much of itsmetropolitan area. It is anational monument and constitutes one of the major expressions of19th-century Romanticism in the world. The palace is aUNESCO World Heritage Site and one of theSeven Wonders of Portugal. It is also used for state occasions by thePresident of the Portuguese Republic and other government officials.
The castle's history started in theMiddle Ages when a chapel dedicated toOur Lady of Pena was built on the top of the hill above Sintra. According to tradition, construction occurred after an apparition of theVirgin Mary.
In 1493,John II, accompanied by his wifeLeonor of Viseu, made a pilgrimage to the site to fulfill a vow. His successor,Manuel I, was also very fond of this sanctuary, and ordered the construction of a monastery on this site which was donated to theOrder of Saint Jerome. For centuries Pena was a small, quiet place for meditation, housing a maximum of eighteen monks.
In the 18th century the monastery was severely damaged bylightning. However, it was the1755 Lisbon earthquake, occurring shortly afterwards, that took the heaviest toll on the monastery, reducing it to ruins. Nonetheless, the chapel (and its works ofmarble andalabaster attributed toNicolau Chanterene) escaped without significant damage.
For many decades the ruins remained untouched, but they still astonished youngPrince Ferdinand. In 1838, asKing consort Ferdinand II, he decided to acquire the old monastery, all of the surrounding lands, the nearbyCastle of the Moors and a few other estates in the area. King Ferdinand then set out to transform the remains of the monastery into a palace that would serve as a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family. The commission for the Romantic style rebuilding was given to Lieutenant-General and mining engineerWilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege. Eschwege, a German amateur architect, was much traveled and likely had knowledge of several castles along theRhine river. The construction took place between 1842 and 1854, although it was almost completed in 1847: King Ferdinand and QueenMaria II intervened decisively on matters of decoration andsymbolism. Among others, the King suggestedvaultarches,Medieval andIslamic elements be included, and he also designed an ornate window for the main façade (inspired by the chapter house window of theConvent of the Order of Christ inTomar).
After the death of Ferdinand the palace passed into the possession of his second wifeElisa Hensler, Countess of Edla. The latter then sold the palace to KingLuís, who wanted to retrieve it for the royal family, and thereafter the palace was frequently used by the family. In 1889 it was purchased by the Portuguese State, and after theRepublican Revolution of 1910 it was classified as a national monument and transformed into a museum. The last queen of Portugal,Queen Amélia, spent her last night at the palace before leaving the country inexile.
The palace quickly drew visitors and became one of Portugal's most visited monuments. Over time the colors of the red and yellow façades faded, and for many years the palace was visually identified as being entirely gray. By the end of the 20th century the palace was repainted and the original colors restored.
In 1995, the palace and the rest of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra were classified as aWorld Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The Pena Palace has a profusion of styles much in accordance with the exotic taste of the Romanticism. The intentional mixture ofeclectic styles includes theNeo-Gothic,Neo-Manueline,Neo-Islamic andNeo-Renaissance. Much of this has been evident since major renovations in the 1840s. References to other prominent Portuguese buildings, such as theBelém Tower, are also present.[1]
Almost the entire palace stands on rock in theSintra Mountains. Structurally, it can be divided in four sections:
As many elements as possible were preserved of the remains of theHieronymite convent including thecloister, the dining room, thesacristy, and the Manueline-Renaissance chapel. All were embedded in a new section that featured a wide terrace and a clock tower. The Queen's Terrace is perhaps the best spot for obtaining an overall picture of the architecture of the palace. The terrace features asundial cannon that used to fire every day at noon. The clock tower was completed in 1843.
The interiors of the Pena Palace were adapted to serve as the Summer residence of the royal family. It has amazing stuccos, painted walls intrompe-l'œil and various revetments in tile from the 19th century, forming part of the numerous royal collections.
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The Pena Park is a vast forested area completely surrounding the Pena Palace, spreading for over 200 hectares of uneven terrain. The park was created at the same time as the palace by King Ferdinand II, who was assisted in the task by the Baron von Eschwege and theBaron von Kessler. The exotic taste of the Romanticism was applied to the park as it was to the palace. The King ordered trees from diverse, distant lands to be planted there. Those included North Americansequoia,Lawson's cypress,magnolia andWestern redcedar, Chineseginkgo, JapaneseCryptomeria, and a wide variety offerns andtree ferns from Australia andNew Zealand, concentrated in the Queen's Fern Garden (Feteira da Rainha). The park has a labyrinthic system of paths and narrow roads, connecting the palace to the many points of interest throughout the park, as well as to its two gated exits.
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Cultural landscape ofSintra | ||
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38°47′16″N9°23′26″W / 38.78778°N 9.39056°W /38.78778; -9.39056
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