The Necessidades Palace () is a historic building in the Largo do Rilvas, a public square in
Lisbon,
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 ...
. It serves as headquarters of the Portuguese
Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
. The Palace has been classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1983.
History
Formerly a convent belonging to the
Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
*Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...
, it was built in the 18th century, by order of King
John V, in gratitude for prayers answered by ''Our Lady of Needs'', whose first devotional chapel stood on this site.
The palace became the residence of the kings of the
Braganza dynasty, beginning in the reign of
Maria II, and all subsequent monarchs lived there, except for her son,
Luís I, who preferred to use the
Palace of Ajuda.
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, husband of Maria II, lived in this palace until his death, amassing a large collection of art, which would be dispersed after his death. The palace then underwent several renovations to accommodate the taste of the various monarchs who lived there, the most recent of which was carried out at the beginning of the twentieth century by
Carlos I Carlos I may refer to:
*Carlos I of Spain (1500–1558), also Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire
*Carlos I of Portugal (1863–1908), King of Portugal
*Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, ...
. He enlarged the state dining room because of the frequency of
diplomatic activity undertaken there.
The palace was the scene of memorable events in Portuguese history, some momentous, some tragic, some slightly ridiculous. One famous example: the king
Peter V Peter V may refer to:
* Patriarch Peter V of Alexandria (7th–8th centuries)
* Pope Peter V of Alexandria (ruled 1340–1348)
*Peter V of Aragon (IV of Barcelona) (1429–1466), Constable of Portugal and Grand Master of the Order of Aviz
*Peter V ...
had installed in the front door of the palace a slot through which his subjects could, if they wished to, leave messages and complaints for the attention of the sovereign. The last significant event at the palace, which would also be the epilogue of the monarchy, was the joint funeral of King Carlos and his son,
Prince Luís Filipe, on 8 February 1908, after their
assassination by radical
republicans.
On 5 October 1910, during the
Republican Revolution, the palace, because it was the
official residence
An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...
of the king,
Manuel II, was
shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
ed by the cruiser ''
Adamastor'', one of the ships stationed in the
Tagus River
The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...
. The
salvoes caused some damage to the Palace, and one of the bomblets even reached the king's private quarters on the first floor, but he had taken refuge elsewhere on the palace grounds. Thanks to the quick thinking of an employee of the building, who cut down the
flagpole
A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...
that customarily displayed the
royal banner whenever the monarch was in residence, the Republicans were led to believe that Manuel II had abandoned his home. The king did indeed leave Lisbon a few hours later, and he took refuge in the royal palace at
Mafra
Mafra is a Czech media group that publishes printed and internet media, headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. It is a subsidiary of Agrofert holding conglomerate owned by trust of Andrej Babiš, the former Prime Minister of the Czech Repu ...
, 28 kilometres northwest of the capital.
Many works of art housed in the palace were the private property of Manuel II and followed him to his residence in exile in London.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
After the proclamation of the republic on 5 October 1910, the palace remained unoccupied for almost 40 years. In around 1950 it became the headquarters of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a function that continues until the present day. Most of the royal collections, of art, furnishings and other
bric-a-bracs were transferred to the museum of the
Palace of Ajuda.
Just as the word ''
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
'' is a convenient way of referring to the British government, today, any use of the word ''Necessidades'' is a
shorthand way of speaking of the Portuguese foreign ministry or the foreign policy of Portugal, in general.
See also
*
List of Baroque residences
This is a list of Baroque architecture, Baroque palaces and Residenz, residences built in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Baroque architecture is a building style of the Baroque, Baroque era, begun in late 16th-century Italy and spread in Europe ...
*
Lisbon regicide
The Lisbon Regicide or Regicide of 1908 ( pt, Regicídio de 1908) was the assassination of King Carlos I of Portugal and the Algarves and his heir-apparent, Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, by assassins sympathetic to Republican interests ...
References
External links
{{Coord, 38.7068444, N, 9.1696334, W, source:dewiki_region:PT-14_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title
Palaces in Lisbon
Official residences in Portugal
Royal residences in Portugal
Houses completed in 1750
Necessidades
Baroque architecture in Portugal