Monsanto Forest Park ( pt, Parque Florestal de Monsanto) is a municipal protected

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, the largest green patch in the city, with almost 1000 ha (10 km²). It offers a well diversified tree-covered area to the Portuguese capital. Many species were introduced in the Monsanto Hills (''Serra de Monsanto'') during the reforesting period. Due to climate and geological characteristics, they created a very interesting ecosystems in the urban patch of Lisbon (and surrounding municipalities). The Ecological Park of Lisbon, located at Monsanto Forest Park, is a meeting point for a new contact with the environment, right in the heart of the Portuguese capital. Its main purpose is to make visitors aware of the many variables of the environment, for instance, geology, climate, flora, and fauna. The Ecological Park, residing inside the Forest Park, has a perimeter of four kilometres, and a total area of fifty hectares, of which sixteen is fenced and thirty four is non-fenced. It spreads over ''Serra de Monsanto'', from Alto da Serafina to the Woods of S. Domingos de Benfica, passes the farm of

Marquis de Fronteira Count of Torre (in Portuguese ''Conde da Torre'') was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from July 26, 1638, by King Philip II of Portugal, and granted to ''Dom'' Fernando de Mascarenhas, Lord of Rosmaninhal. The new ...

and the Lead Shooting Club of Portugal. The Ecological Park runs an Interpretation Centre, with an auditorium, a space for permanent and occasional exhibitions, and a Centre of Multimedia Resources.

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

, the largest Portuguese non-profit national environment organization for the conservation of the natural environment, is based in Monsanto Park.

History

The intensive agricultural usage of the soils led to erosion and practically to a destruction of the original vegetation. In the 1930s, the increasing demand for construction areas led

Duarte Pacheco Duarte may refer to: * Duarte (surname), person's surname (or composed surname) and given name * Duarte, California, United States * Duarte Province, Dominican Republic * Pico Duarte Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Dominican Republic, on th ...

, the then Minister for the Public Works of Portugal, to resuscitate an idea from 1868: the reforesting of the then practically bare Serra de Monsanto. The regulation for Monsanto Park was put in place in 1934, and the works for replantation were carried out by farmers and prisoners from Monsanto Fort. Architect

Keil do Amaral Francisco Caetano Keil Coelho do Amaral, 2nd Viscount of Pedralva (Lisbon, 28 April 1910 – Lisbon, 19 February 1975), was a Portuguese architect, painter and photographer. His name was given to a street in Lisbon. Keil do Amaral stood out ...

presented the first complete plan for the park, including leisure and sports areas, some of which still exist. The Ecological Park has a privileged location at Monsanto Forest Park — the largest green patch in the city of Lisbon, with almost 1000 ha. The

Monsanto Park Circuit The Circuito de Monsanto, or Monsanto Park Circuit, was a race track in Monsanto Forest Park, near Lisbon, Portugal which hosted the Portuguese Grand Prix. Built on parklands, the circuit was considered difficult to drive because it crossed so ...

, a 5.44 km (3.38 mi) race track, hosted the 1959 Formula One

Portuguese Grand Prix The Portuguese Grand Prix (''Grande Prémio de Portugal'') is a motorsports event that was first held in 1951 as a sportscar event, and then intermittently disappearing for many years before being revived again. In 1964 event was held as a spo ...

Gallery

Image:Monsanto 6.JPG, Overview of the park Image:CavaleirosMonsanto.JPG, Signal of the riders trail of the original draft of Monsanto Image:MoinhoCalhau.JPG, Three Crosses Mill Image:RecolhaPedrasMonsanto.JPG, Former structure for the collection of stones

History

Gallery

See also