The Seteais Palace () is a neoclassical

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

located in

Sintra Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populat ...

, on the

Portuguese Riviera The Portuguese Riviera ( Portuguese: '' Riviera Portuguesa'') is a term used in the tourist industry for the affluent coastal region to the west of Lisbon, Portugal, centered on the coastal municipalities of Cascais (including Estoril), Oeiras ...

, operating as a

luxury hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

known as the Tivoli Palácio de Seteais Hotel. The palace is a national landmark and is included in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

''Cultural Landscape of Sintra''

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

listing.

Etymology

Jose Alfredo mentions in “Seteais fields” that this field is very old and has always been an integral part of the precinct behind the palace. Some people believe that its name comes from the tradition of shouting “ai” on the road where its echo is repeated 7 times. On the other hand, a very old manuscript by an anonymous author kept in

library mentions that the origin of the word of Seteais derives from the land named Centeais where

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

() was being cultivated.

History

The Seteais Palace was built between 1783 and 1787 for the Dutch

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...

Daniel Gildemeester, on lands granted by the Marquis of Pombal. Although Daniel Gildemeester had a land in the neighborhood of Quinta da Alegria property, there was not any house to live in. So Gildemeester had lived in the Palace of Marquis of Pombal as a tenant during summer. He started to build his own mansion close to the property (

Monserrate Palace The Monserrate Palace ( pt, Palácio de Monserrate) is a palatial villa located near Sintra, the traditional summer resort of the Portuguese court in the foothills overlooking the Atlantic Ocean north of the capital, Lisbon. History According ...

) of his friend British consul Gerard de Visme in order to leave the Palace of Marquis of Pombal. The consul chose to build his house on the border of an elevation, from which the vast landscape around the Sintra hills could be admired. The palace was surrounded with a large garden with fruit trees. In 1797, some years after the consul's death, his widow sold the palace to Diogo José Vito de Menezes Noronha Coutinho, 5th Marquis of Marialva. The palace was enlarged between 1801 and 1802, probably by neoclassical architect José da Costa e Silva, author of the São Carlos Theatre in Lisbon. The palace was turned into a symmetrical U-shaped building, with the consul's house becoming one of its wings. The

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

of the buildings that compose the main façade was decorated with typical neoclassical motifs like vases, busts and reliefs of garlands. The gardens of the palace were remodelled following

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

trends. The old and the new wings were connected in 1802 by a neoclassical arch, built in honour of Prince regent John VI and Princess Carlota Joaquina, who visited the palace in that year. The monumental arch, decorated with the bronze

effigies An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

of the royal pair and a commemorative

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

inscription, is attributed to architect Francisco Leal Garcia. The walls of several inner rooms of the palace were decorated with frescos attributed to

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

painter Jean Pillement and his followers. Painted motifs include exotic vegetation and mythological characters, typical of the neoclassical taste. After changing hands several times, the palace was acquired by the Portuguese government in 1946. The Seteais Palace has been used as a luxury hotel since 1954 but its original characteristics have been preserved.

References

External links

Tivoli Palácio de Seteais Hotel official site

Seteais Palace in the IPPAR website

Seteais Palace in the Sintra Municipality website
{{Coord, 38, 47, 47, N, 9, 23, 46, W, type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Houses completed in 1787 Palaces in Portugal Buildings and structures in Sintra Neoclassical palaces Neoclassical architecture in Portugal Palaces in Lisbon District Hotels in Portugal 1787 establishments in Portugal Hotels established in 1954

Etymology

History

See also

References

External links