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GPS 38.7508734806241, -9.259028759183892

Close to Sintra and Lisbon, the National Palace of Queluz and its historic gardens are one of the most notable examples of the harmonious connection between landscape and palatial architecture in Portugal. They illustrate the environments and experiences of the Royal Family and the Portuguese court in the second half of the 18th and early 19th centuries, while showing the evolution of taste in this period marked by Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassicism, referring to moments of great relevance history, in the transition from the Old Regime to Liberalism.

From Castelo Rodrigo to Casa do Infantado

At the origin of the Palace is the former Casa de Campo de Queluz, ordered to be erected by King Cristóvão de Moura, first Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo, who contributed to the aggregation of Portugal and its overseas territories to the Spanish Crown. D. Manuel de Moura (1592-1652), his son and second Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo, transformed the mansion into a large recreational farm, confiscated after the Restoration of Independence in 1640 and donated to Prince D. Pedro, first Lord of the House of Infantado and future D. Pedro II (1648-1706).

The creation in 1654 of the title of the Casa do Infantado by King D. João IV (1604-1656) intended to provide assets and income of their own to the second sons of the kings of Portugal, princes who were not destined to be heirs of the Crown.

Infante D. Francisco (1691-1742), second Lord of the Casa do Infantado, was responsible for expansion and water collection works, including the construction of the aqueduct that still exists today. It was, however, Infante D. Pedro (1717-1786), third Lord of the Casa do Infantado and future king consort D. Pedro III (by marriage to his niece D. Maria I) who, between 1747 and 1786, promoted a concerted work campaign, expanding the so-called “Paço Velho” and giving it the scope of a Royal Palace. Aloof from politics and courtly intrigues, possessing a considerable fortune and elegant tastes and habits, D. Pedro devoted direct and constant attention to Queluz, which only ended with his death.

From Casa de Campo to Real Paço

Initially conceived as a summer residence, it became a privileged space for leisure and entertainment for the royal family, who inhabited it permanently from 1794 until they left for Brazil, in 1807, during the French invasions. The different green spaces form a unit with the building, whose facades, facing the upper gardens “French style” (Pênsil and Malta), extend through the delicate broderie parterres outlined by boxwood hedges. The statuary, inspired by classical mythology, ornaments and punctuates the main axes, enlivening these stately gardens. The remarkable set of stone and lead sculptures come from Italy and England, the latter being by London artist John Cheere. These gardens are separated from the adjacent gardens, as well as the surrounding wooded and agricultural areas, by stone balustrades with vases and statues. From the portico radiates a set of avenues connected, in turn, to others forming a complex layout, with a geometric lattice, whose intersections feature lakes and fountains with water features. Of note is the lake designed in 1764 by the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Robillion, in the form of a starry octagon (Lake of Medals), among others.

In the interior of the Palace, the spaces of state, of devotion and the private rooms follow one another in close connection with the exterior, once the stage of parties, dances, theaters, concerts, games and equestrian and pyrotechnic shows. The gilded carving and papier maché works, the walls lined with mirrors or paintings and the sparkling chandeliers, with a great decorative effect, as well as the exhibited collection, mostly from royal collections, reflect the ambience and refined spirit of the golden age. of the Palace.

Through the scenographic Staircase of the Lions, you can access the monumental Canal de Azulejos, an extensive artificial lake – decorated with large tile panels representing sea ports and gallant scenes – which allowed members of the Royal Family to ride a gondola while listening to music.

The main construction phases

A first phase of work, centered mainly on adapting the old palace and led by the architect of the Casa do Infantado Mateus Vicente de Oliveira (from c. 1747 to c. 1758), is followed by a second phase, coinciding with the announcement of the marriage of D. Pedro with the heir to the throne, Princess D. Maria, which took place in 1760. It then became necessary to provide the Palace with the appropriate spaces for a royal residence, with the architect and goldsmith Jean- Baptiste Robillion (from 1760 to 1782), under the supervision of Mateus Vicente de Oliveira. An example of this is the construction of the Throne Room, at the end of the 1960s, which did not exist in the initial plan, and the Pavilion for private rooms, whose staircase connects the Palace to the Royal Quinta de Queluz and provides a scenographic effect of great elegance.

In 1784, new construction projects began, directed by the architect and sergeant-major Manuel Caetano de Sousa (from c. 1784 to 1792). Of this phase, the second floor stands out, with new rooms, of which only the main floor over the Ceremonies Facade remains, and the so-called Pavilhão D. Maria, erected in the place where the “Opera House” was located. Both interventions were completed in 1789.

After the fire of the Royal Barraca da Ajuda, in 1794, where the Royal Family had lived permanently since the earthquake of 1755, the Palace of Queluz became the official residence of Queen D. Maria I – who was widowed in the meantime – and later of the princes regents D. João VI and D. Carlota Joaquina, making it necessary to adjust some interior spaces and build new buildings to accommodate the Court, the Guard and the servants.

Sophistication and Party

From the first period of habitation of the Palace, corresponding to D. Pedro III and D. Maria I, stands out the great ludic animation, along with the great versatility of the spaces, which were staged and set up according to the different functions and events, usually celebrations religious festivals and royal anniversaries.

Queluz often goes to the Court to watch serenades, cavalcades and fireworks, on the occasion of the celebrations of São João and São Pedro, in the month of June, and the birthday of D. Pedro III, on the 5th of July. Most of the festivities take place in the gardens and include ephemeral architecture, fireworks, equestrian games and bullfights, on horseback and on foot, among other entertainment, especially between 1752 and 1786, with music always occupying a central role.

Court life in Queluz was still lively at the time when the betrothed of Infante D. João (future D. João VI) – the Spanish Infanta D. Carlota Joaquina de Bourbon – arrived in Portugal (1785), still witnessing the epilogue of a carefree and happy time that a succession of tragic events would soon overshadow.

The End of Faust and the Ancien Régime

The death of D. Pedro III, in 1786, will be followed, two years later, by the premature death of the Crown Prince D. José. He left a very weak mother whose inability to govern would eventually be decreed in 1792, the year in which D. João was acclaimed Prince Regent.

With the hasty departure of the Royal Family to Brazil in 1807, the day before the entry of Napoleonic troops into Lisbon under the command of General Junot, the Palace's period of greatest experience came to an end. A large part of the nobility also left with the Royal Family, leaving Portugal with many treasures of the national heritage, including the contents of the Palace. feed the dream of installing Napoleon Bonaparte here.

D. João VI and the Court returned to Portugal in 1821, but Queluz was only inhabited again, in semi-exile, by Queen D. Carlota Joaquina accompanied by her sister-in-law D. Maria Francisca Benedita (1746-1829), the “princess -widow”, to whose name a wing of rooms was linked. D. Miguel (1802-1866) also inhabited the Palace of Queluz, as king and during the bloody period of the fratricidal wars that opposed him to D. Pedro IV (1798-1834), the first Emperor of Brazil and the first Portuguese constitutional monarch who, right after the liberal victory, here he dies prematurely of tuberculosis, in the same room – the so-called D. Quixote Room – where he was born 36 years earlier.

From 1957 onwards, the Pavilhão D. Maria, the east wing annexed to the Palace, became the residence of foreign Heads of State on an official visit to Portugal.

The Portuguese School of Equestrian Art was based in the gardens of the National Palace of Queluz, founded in 1979 with the aim of promoting the teaching, practice and dissemination of traditional Portuguese Equestrian Art. It recovers the tradition of Picaria Real, the equestrian academy of the Portuguese court in the 18th century, and exclusively uses Lusitanian iron horses from Alter Real.

Currently, visitors to the Palace and Gardens can attend every Wednesday and Saturday, at 11 am, a show with horses and riders from the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art.

The National Palace of Queluz was classified as a National Monument in 1910 and has been part of the Network of European Royal Residences since 2013.

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