Thursday 28 January 2010

More Palaces in Sintra:Pena and Seteais...

Sintra...

3. Palacio da Pena/Pena Palace

Ergue-se la no alto...It stands on the high ...

I took this photograph at the top of the gardens of the Palace, where Queen Dona Amelia used to sit to enjoy the panoramic views. They call those stones, the Throne ...

From Portugal


"The palace stands on the top of a hill above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon and much of its metropolitan area. It is a national monument and constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th century Romanticism in the world. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. "

(From Wikipedia)

The magic is bigger when it gets clouded by the fog ...

From Portugal


Please click on the first link of this post to see the fotos of the magnificent rooms and exquisite art pieces...

"In 1838, as King consort Ferdinand II, he decided to acquire the old monastery, all of the surrounding lands, the nearby Castle of the Moors and a few other estates in the area. King Ferdinand then set out to transform the remains of the monastery into a palace that would serve as a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family. The commission for the Romantic style rebuilding was given to Lieutenant-General and mining engineer Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege. Eschwege, a German amateur architect, was much traveled and likely had knowledge of several castles along the Rhine river. The construction took place between 1842-1854, although it was almost completed in 1847: King Ferdinand and Queen Maria II intervened decisively on matters of decoration and symbolism. Among others, the King suggested vault arches, Medieval and Islamic elements be included, and he also designed an exquisitely ornate window for the main façade (inspired by the chapter house window of the Convent of the Order of Christ in Tomar)."

(From Wikipedia)

The Gardens...

Os Jardins deste Palacio sao luxuriantes e encantadores, plenos de recantos, pontes, lagos, arvores frondosas, cisnes, estatuas,...

From Portugal


From Portugal


From Portugal


"The exotic taste of the Romanticism was applied to the park as it was to the palace. The king ordered trees from diverse, distant lands to be planted there. Those included North American Sequoia, Lawson's Cypress, Magnolia and Western Redcedar, Chinese Ginkgo, Japanese Cryptomeria, and a wide variety of ferns and tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand, concentrated in the Queen's Fern Garden (Feteira da Rainha). The park has a labyrinthic system of paths and narrow roads, connecting the palace to the many points of interest throughout the park, as well as to its two gated exits."

(From Wikipedia)

From Portugal


From Portugal


From Portugal


From Portugal


I leave you with the roses of Queen Dona Amelia ...

From Portugal


...is now late afternoon, so you must go to ...

4.Seteais...

"The Seteais Palace is a neoclassical palace located in Sintra, Portugal. The palace is nowadays a luxury hotel, restaurant and a tourist attraction included in the Cultural Landscape of Sintra, listed as World Heritage Site by UNESCO."

(From Wikipedia)

and follow the advice of Tessa de Loo: take a glass of port on the terrace ...:-)

"Niets is fijner dan aan het eind van de middag op het terras van de Quinta de Seteais (in de 18e eeuw gebouwd door een Hollandse koopman, Braamcamp geheten) een glas port te drinken."

Vale a pena, sei por experiencia propria, pena que nao tenha nenhuma foto desse fim de tarde....

Sintra tem muito mais para visitar:praias, serra, miradouros, e locais unicos como o Convento dos Capuchos e a Quinta da Regaleira....

See this post in the blog Dutched Pinay about Quinta da Regaleira and Seteais Palace...amazing fotos, by the way...

Sintra is unique ... not surprising, therefore, that has enchanted writers like Hans Christian Andersen or Lord Byron, as stated, well, Tessa de Loo.

"De romantische sfeer trok ook schrijvers en dichters uit den vreemde aan, als Hans Christiaan Andersen, Lord Byron en William Beckford, die een geestig dagboek schreef over zijn verblijf."

Let us therefore follow the example of these writers ...

Have a wonderful time in Sintra!

8 comments:

Maria Menezes said...

Belíssimo post sobre os nossos maravilhosos palácios em Sintra que eu tanto adoro.
Obrigada e beijinhos!

Unknown said...

I'm totally impressed - what a beautiful place - not just the palace, but the location! And the gardens are incredible. No wonder it has been a source of inspiration for such big writers!
Thanks for showing us this!

Margarida Elias said...

Tenho saudades de ir ao Parque da Pena... Acho que os meus filhos também devem gostar. A ver se consigo ir quando estiver bom tempo. E depois, como um travesseiro (na Piriquita, claro)!!!!
Beijinhos!

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Sandra dearest ,
This is a magnificent tour of a beautiful country and gardens!!! I love the pictures in the link provided, especially that kitchen! And the gardens with the little "crooked" brick path. A friend of mine who is an avid gardener and traveler told me once that she saw the most beautiful gardens in Portugal. Very lovely tour, my dear! Bisous, Anita

Presépio no Canal said...

Comes DOIS travesseiros na Piriquita, o segundo e por mim! ;-) Eu adoro travesseiros da Piriquita, quentinhos e acompanhados de sumo de laranja, tao bom!!Beijinhos

Presépio no Canal said...

Portugal is considered the garden of Europe.
As we used to say:"Este jardim a beira-mar plantado" :-)

My Dear Friend,

I have you in my mind, I hope everything goes fine ;-)

isabel tiago said...

Bom dia Sandra

Muito obrigada por me visitar no memórias de sacavem que vai indo aos poucos. De facto este painel em Oliveira do Hospital reporta-me a anos bons da minha vida em que tudo era mais simples. Bastava-nos uma loiçita de Sacavém...

Agora as fotos de Sintra são um sonho que nem todos ainda tiveram o privilégio de conhecer. É uma zona de excelência em Portugal. Sabia que há anos foi encontrada à venda em Paris, um desenho da época em que se começava a construir o Palácio? Ainda só se via a serra e umas valentes pedras que seriam as primeiras do Palácio. Não sei se esse desenho foi comprado por responsáveis portugueses? Na altura, a pessoa que ocasionalmente o descobrir, sugeria a Portugal que fizesse a compra dele com urgência pois estava numa loja de antiguidades!!!
Sintra é sempre Sintra!!!
Muitas linbas as suas fotos.

P.S. O meu filho, o Sérgio, tem uma foto daquela árvore muito semelhante à sua!!! Também ele gostou do pormenor!!!

Bom fim de semana!!!

Boas fotos.

Isabel Tiago

Presépio no Canal said...

Bom, isso e uma reliquia, um documento historico a salvaguardar, mas tendo em conta o historico do nosso Estado em deixar fugir pecas valiosas em leiloes importantes, inclusivie algumas Joias da Coroa, apesar dos muitos alertas e avisos...nao sei, duvido um bocado que tenha sido salvaguardado...mas nao tenho conhecimento da situacao...
Ainda bem que gostou das fotos, mas nao tenho nenhuma de Seteais, que parvoice...e um bom motivo para la ir outra vez...
Beijinhos e obrigada pelo simpatico comentario :-)