Alçado do Palácio Real em Campo de Ourique (pormenor)

The Project for the Royal Palace in Campo de Ourique was an ambitious 18th century proposal for a monumental royal palace to be built in the

Campo de Ourique Campo de Ourique () is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in the historic center of Lisbon, Campo de Ourique is east of Alcântara, north of Estrela, west of Santo António, and south of Camp ...

neighborhood of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

. Portuguese architect Dionizio de S. Dionizio planned the palace for King

Joseph I of Portugal Dom Joseph I ( pt, José Francisco António Inácio Norberto Agostinho, ; 6 June 1714 – 24 February 1777), known as the Reformer (Portuguese: ''o Reformador''), was King of Portugal from 31 July 1750 until his death in 1777. Among other act ...

as part of the reconstruction efforts following the destruction of the

1755 Lisbon Earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...

Context

The

1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...

, with its ensuing tsunami and fire, devastated much of Lisbon, notably destroying the city's

Ribeira Palace Ribeira Palace (; pt, Paço da Ribeira) was the main residence of the Kings of Portugal, in Lisbon, for around 250 years. Its construction was ordered by King Manuel I of Portugal when he found the Royal Alcáçova of São Jorge unsuitable. The ...

royal complex centered at the

Terreiro do Paço Terreiro is a town and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cuanza Norte. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units in Angola after municipalities. The 163 municipalities of Angol ...

, including the Tagus Royal Opera House and the new cathedral of the

Patriarch of Lisbon The Patriarch of Lisbon ( la, Patriarcha Olisiponensis, pt, Patriarca de Lisboa), also called the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon once he has been made cardinal, is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lisbon. He is one of the ...

. Ribeira Palace had been the primary Lisbon residence of the

King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the ...

since the 16th century, when it substituted the Royal Alcáçova at São Jorge Castle. Following the earthquake, King

and the

Portuguese Royal Family The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which reigned in ...

established themselves in the western reaches of Lisbon, which survived the earthquake, first at

Belém Palace The Belém Palace ( pt, Palácio de Belém), formally the National Palace of Belém, ( pt, Palácio Nacional de Belém), is the current official residence of the President of the Portuguese Republic, the head of state of Portugal. Located in the ...

and then at

Ajuda Palace The Palace of Ajuda ( pt, Palácio da Ajuda, ) is a neoclassical monument in the civil parish of Ajuda in the city of Lisbon, central Portugal. Built on the site of a temporary wooden building constructed to house the Royal family after the 1755 ...

. Reconstruction efforts for the city as a whole were charged to

Manuel da Maia Manuel da Maia (5 August 1677, baptised – 17 September 1768) was a Portuguese architect, engineer, and archivist. Maia is primarily remembered for his leadership in the reconstruction efforts following the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, alongside Eug ...

Eugénio dos Santos Eugénio dos Santos de Carvalho (1711–1760) was a Portuguese architect and military engineer, responsible for the planning and rebuilding of Lisbon's Pombaline Lower Town after the 1755 earthquake. Among other buildings he designed the Lisbon C ...

, and

Carlos Mardel Carlos Mardel (born Martell Károly; Pressburg; c. 1695 - Lisbon; 8 September 1763) was a Hungarian-Portuguese military officer, engineer, and architect. Mardel is primarily remembered for his role in the reconstruction effort after the 1755 Lis ...

by the Marquis of Pombal, King Joseph's prime minister. Manuel da Maia, as High-Engineer of the Kingdom, was charged with personally leading the efforts to rebuilt a royal palace in central Lisbon.

History

In February 1756, Manuel da Maia selected

to be the site of the new royal palace and began studies into the geography of the area and the urban planning of the palace and its integration into the larger urban environment. Campo de Ourique was purposefully chosen as an area not located near 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 ...

waterfront, which suffered the most destruction from the earthquake and tsunami. In 1758, Maia charged

with the objective of contextualizing the chosen palace site into the larger urban fabric of the rebuilding city and

with the execution of plans for the palace and its environs. The two alternative elevations of possible main façades done by military engineer Captain Dionizio S. Dionizio in 1760 are thought to have been executed under the guidance of

, though the details surrounding the palace's planning are unclear. Owing to the primary concern of rebuilding the vast amounts of housing and commercial buildings destroyed by the earthquake, the Portuguese Royal Family eventually began to settle at

, with many families of the

Portuguese nobility Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

choosing to establish themselves in the Belém district of Lisbon, which was spared from devastation. A sentiment arose among nobles who had rebuilt their own estates in the Belém and Ajuda districts that the King should not relocate and rebuilt a palace in Campo de Ourique, which was a considerable distance from Belém and Ajuda. This sentiment coupled with the complications that arose in the reconstruction of Lisbon, particularly of the scarcity of materials and labour, led to the decision to ultimately abandon the project for a palace in Campo de Ourique.

Discovery

The façade elevations of the palace were discovered in 2014 by researchers at the

Lisbon Academy of Sciences The Lisbon Academy of Sciences ( pt, Academia das Ciências de Lisboa) is Portugal's national academy dedicated to the advancement of sciences and learning, with the goal of promoting academic progress and prosperity in Portugal. It is one of Po ...

in the academy archives. Hélder Carita, a researcher with

NOVA University Lisbon NOVA University Lisbon ( pt, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ), or just NOVA, is a Portuguese public university whose rectorate is located in Campolide, Lisbon. Founded in 1973, it is the newest of the public universities in the Portuguese capita ...

's FCSH, lead the investigation into the origin and context of the architectural plans. While it is assumed that Dionizio S. Dionizio executed these plans while under the leadership of

, the prominence of his name on the plans, while also not being one of the prominent engineers and architects leading Lisbon's reconstruction, raise questions about the context in which these elevations were drawn up.Universidade Nova de Lisboa/Mais Lisboa - Um Palácio Real em Campo de Ourique
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References

External links

Palácio de Campo de Ourique
(1st elevation) a
A Casa SenhorialPalácio de Campo de Ourique
(2nd elevation) a
A Casa Senhorial
{{Portuguese Monarchy Topics Unbuilt buildings and structures in Portugal Palaces in Lisbon Royal residences in Portugal