The ''Palmela Palace'' ('' pt, Palácio Palmela''), also known as the ''Conceição Velha'', was a summer residence in

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Portugal, tourist de ...

, Lisbon District,

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 ...

built for the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and Duchess of Palmela in 1874. It is considered to be a major example of the so-called ''

summer architecture Summer architecture ('' pt, arquitetura de veraneio'') was a Portuguese architectural movement originating in the Portuguese Riviera, in late 19th and early 20th century, when the region became a popular resort destination for the Portuguese Roy ...

'' of the Cascais area.

History

The Palmela Palace was built as a summer palace towards the end of the nineteenth century when Cascais became the summer resort of the royal family and, consequently, of the Portuguese court. This was one of the largest houses built by Portuguese nobility in Cascais at that time. It was constructed on the site of the disused fort of Our Lady of the Conception ( pt, Forte de Nossa Senhora da Conceição ), which was acquired by the Palmela family from the state in 1868 or 1869. The agreement signed with the government required the buyers to keep intact the line of fire to the Cascais coastline, ensuring that the new building could be used for military purposes in case of war. The drawings for the palace were delivered in 1873 and construction work began in that year or in early 1874. Designed by an English architect,

Thomas Henry Wyatt Thomas Henry Wyatt (9 May 1807 – 5 August 1880) was an Anglo-Irish architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1870–73 and being awarded its Royal Gold Medal for A ...

, it draws heavily on the Perpendicular English Gothic style and uses local stone. The position of the palace next to the sea is well expressed in its profusion of gazebos and bay windows. The plan was asymmetrical; giving the idea of an older house that had been restored and added to rather than a recent construction. In the 1880s, the building was restructured by the architect José António Gaspar, with the aim of creating room for a chapel. However, this work was found to be inadequate and the Duke of Palmela then entrusted José Luís Monteiro to do further renovation between 1890 and 1895. Under close control of the Duchess, a park was developed in the area around the house, with trees and some small lakes. The park contains a rare Portuguese example of the

Canary Island Pine ''Pinus canariensis'', the Canary Island pine, is a species of gymnosperm in the conifer family Pinaceae. It is a large, evergreen tree, native and endemic to the outer Canary Islands of the Atlantic Ocean. Description ''Pinus canariensis'' is a ...

. Its present size is smaller than the original, having been divided by the construction of the railway line from Cascais to Lisbon in 1889.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Cascais Summer architecture

History

See also

References