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The Palace of Seteais, an elegant palace located near the village of Sintra, was built in the 18th century for the Dutch consul, Daniel Gildemeester, on a piece of land donated by the Marquis of Pombal.

It currently belongs to the hotel company Tivoli Hotels & Resorts, which has a hotel unit installed there.

The Palace of Seteais has been classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1947.

History

Built by Consul Daniel Gildemeestre, a Dutchman born in Utrecht, after he received the monopoly on diamond exports from the Marquis of Pombal, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, and thus accumulated a substantial fortune. In addition to "Campo do Alardo", the former name of the Seteais field, he also owned the current Palácio das Janelas Verdes in Lisbon, where he also carried out extensive works.

For the construction of the building, it was necessary to demolish a "stone hill" and create a viewpoint. During this period, only one of the palace's bodies was built, the rest being the work of the Marquis of Marialva.

Gildemeester would die in Seteais in 1793 after losing the diamond monopoly (it is thought that this happened after the death of King José I and the loss of political power by the Marquis of Pombal, his minister).

The property was acquired from the Consul's heirs by the 5th Marquis of Marialva, 7th Count of Cantanhede and chief groom, D. Diogo José Vito de Menezes Noronha Coutinho. The Marquis dedicated considerable efforts and large sums to the palace, having, for example, hired the architect José Cornélio da Silva to change the building's facade in a work campaign from 1802 to 1803. The Marquis of Marialva died in 1803, his son Pedro did not he would not even inhabit the palace and in 1823 with the death of the latter, the Casa de Marialva is extinguished, passing the property of Seteais through successive generations and family lines - D.Joaquina de Menezes, Marchioness of Louriçal; Nuno Rolim de Moura Barreto, Duke of Loulé; Augusto Pedro Rolim Moura, Count of Azambuja and D.António de Mendonça e Melo.

In 1918 the palace was bought by the Count of Sucena and in 1946 it was finally acquired by the National Treasury. It would be the President of the Council, António de Oliveira Salazar, who authorized the conversion of the house into a luxury hotel, as it remains today.

Location

Located in Sintra, a world heritage site, this palace stands in the middle of a hilly terrain, from where you can see the Atlantic Ocean and the Serra de Sintra, in particular with a view of the Pena Palace and the Moorish castle. The palace itself is built at the bottom of the so-called "Campo de Seteais" since this was a public place until it was leased by Diogo Vito de Menezes Coutinho. It was established in this tenure that the land would not be used for purposes other than a public walk and that it would be occupied by the cavalry of the Guard of Their Majesties on the visits of the Royal Family to Sintra, thus justifying the generous lawn that separates the palace from the main entrances .

Characteristics

Of neoclassical architecture, it is part of the set of palaces renovated by the bourgeoisie. The entrance stands out, with triangular gables, sash windows and a two-armed staircase that extends inwards towards the secondary façade. One can also see the adaptation of the palace to the irregular terrain, which has a framework with the Palace of Pena.

In 1802, the two parts of the palace were connected by an imposing triumphal arch that the Marquis of Marialva had raised to commemorate the visit of King D. João VI and Queen D. Carlota Joaquina. At the top, over the commemorative inscription, the crowning of spears, flags and weapons framing the medallion with the busts of the monarchs, is also characteristic of the neoclassical style and based on the drawings of amortis sements from the Cours d'Architecture. On May 21, 1802 Francisco Leal Garcia received "four hundred and eighty thousand reais in metal currency" to build the triumphal arch and the central medallion was in charge of Joaquim Timotheo da Costa, master tinsmith, in the same year.

As a whole, there are two bodies with a composite plan — the left wing, with a U-shaped plan, which develops around the inner courtyard, and the right wing, with a rectangular plan. The main facades are symmetrical, with two registers. The busts that top the neoclassical platband are attributed to Francisco Leal Garcia. The rooms in the left wing are painted with friezes of flowers and wreaths, with emphasis on the Pillement Room, with figurative scenes by Jean Baptiste Pillement, and the Noble Room, with mythological maritime allusions.

Also noteworthy is the wide staircase, with two arms and three flights, giving access to the lower floor. It should be noted that this is the Palace of Seteais, described as abandoned in the famous work by Eça de Queirós "Os Maias".

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