QUINTA DA REGALEIRA

INFORMATION

Quinta da Regaleira is a property near the historic centre of Sintra, Portugal. It is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is considered one of the principal tourist attractions of Sintra. It consists of a romantic palace and chapel, and a forest or park with lakes, grottoes, wells, fountains, and many constructions. 

HISTORY 

The land had many owners over the years. It belonged to the Viscountess of Regaleira, a family of merchants, when it was sold in 1892 to Carvalho Monteiro. 

Vicountess of Regaleira

Carvalho Monteiro 

With the help of the Italian architect Luigi Manini, he created an estate of 4 hectare. Manini designed evoked Roman, Gothic, Renaissance, and Manueline styles. The construction commenced in 1904 and much of it was completed by 1910. 

Luigi Manini 

It was later sold in 1942 to Waldemar d'Orey, who used it as private residence for his family. In 1987, the estate was sold to the Japanese Aoki Corporation. The corporation kept the land closed to the public for ten years, until it was acquired by the Sintra Town Council in 1997. It finally opened to the public in June 1998. 

Waldemar d'Orey

PALACE

The palace contains five floors. 

• The ground floor consists of a series of hallways that all connect the living room, dining room, balcony, some smaller rooms... 
• The second floor contains Carvalho Monteiro's office, and the bedrooms of female servants. 
• The third floor contains the ironing room and a smaller room with access to a terrace. 
• Finally, the basement contains the male servants' bedrooms and the kitchen. 

CHAPEL 

The Regaleira Chapel is a Roman Catholic Chapel, and stands in front of the palace's main façade. The interior of the chapel is richly decorated with frescoes and stained glass windows. The frescoes contain representations of Teresa of Ávila and Saint Anthony, as well as other religious depictions. 

PARK 

Much of the four hectares of land consists of a treed park lined with roads and paths. The park contains an extensive system of tunnels, which have multiple entry points. 

The Initiation Wells are two wells on the property. They never served as water sources, they were used for ceremonial purposes that included Tarot initiation rites. The larger one contains a 27 meter spiral staircase.

It has two artificial lakes and several fountains were added by Monteiro. One of the most interesting is the Aquarium.