Pena Palace
Palácio da Pena
Sintra, Portugal
Sintra Parks Monte da Lua, Conservation Company
Parques de Sintra Monte da Lua S. A.
1838–1868
Architects: Baron of Eschwege (1840–1847), Demetrio Cinnatti, Wenceslau Cifka (1846–1847); Carpenter: Gregório Casimiro; Ceramist: Company Pickman (1846–1847); Designers: Fernando de Saxe-Coburgo (1846–1847), Nicolau Pires (1840), Visconde de Meneses (attr., 1841–1843); Sculptor: Nicolau de Chanterene (attr., 1532); Menuisier: Barbosa e Costa (1846–1847); stoneman: João Henriques (1840–1847), João Luís (16 th cent.); Stained glass artist: Kerner.
The initial small convent of friars Hieronymites rebuilt by King Manuel I (1481-1495), was rather damaged with 1755 earthquake. It was purchased in ruins with the surrounding forest by King Ferdinand II (1838) husband of Queen Maria II (1819-1853), to be adapted as a royal summer residence.
The convent fascinated the king, namely the hill and the aesthetic enhancement of the ruins as a result of his Germanic origin and of the romanticism in vogue. Firstly the convent’s accommodations around the old cloister were adapted for residential use and the convent’s church became a private chapel. In 1843, a new wing was added with larger rooms and reception hall, such as the Great Hall. German amateur architect Baron von Eschwege carried out the work under the king’s close supervision.
Fernando II conceived a romantic revivalist and eclectic palace, blending Gothic, Manuelin and Arab styles into what became the epitome of the Portuguese Romanticism. The main features are the outside walls crowned by a Neo-Moorish arcade, the Queen’s terrace with arcades in the Arabian style; the entrance gate with a drawbridge, functioning as an “antecamber” that prepares the visitor to understand the portico, the “Triton Arch”, an allegory of the creation of the world, sited in the façade of the new palace. The arch leads to the arcaded courtyard with an Arab inspired ceiling in its passageway. For the façade overlooking the courtyard the king designed a window inspired on the one of the Convento de Cristo (Tomar) that is now seen as the beginning of the neo-Manueline style.
Maria Regina Anacleto (Palácio da Pena) "Pena Palace" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monuments;AWE;pt;2;en
Prepared by: Maria Regina Anacleto (Palácio da Pena)
MWNF Working Number: PT 003
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