![\"AjudaNationalPalace\"](\"http:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/AjudaNationalPalace.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nOver time the project has undergone several periods when the construction was stopped or slowed due to financial constraints or political conflicts. When the Royal Family had to flee to Brazil (in 1807), following the\u00a0invasion of Portugal\u00a0by French troops, and the work proceeded very slowly with Fabri taking charge of the project, later followed by\u00a0Ant\u00f3nio Francisco Rosa. Lack of financial resources would also a result in the reduction of the projects scale. The construction of the Ajuda Palace, which began in 1796 and lasted until the 19th century, was a project plagued by various\/diverse political, economic and artistic\/architectonic problems.\u00a0It was invaded by Napoleon’s troops in 1807, and discontinued by Liberal forces who imposed a constitutional monarchy that reduced the power of the monarchy.\u00a0<\/span>Artistically, it was a convergence of the Baroque styles from Mafra, very connected to regal authority, with the birth of the Neoclassic style from Italy.\u00a0These tastes were affected by successive interruptions, due to a lack of funds, political sanctions or disconnection between the workers and authorities who were responsible for the project.\u00a0The project was various times modified, but were generally authored by Manuel Caetano de Sousa (the last Baroque architect) and, later, Costa e Silva and Fabri, both Bolognese architects whose tastes crossed the architectural spectrum, but in which Neoclassicism predominated.<\/p>\n When the Palace finally became a permanent residence of the Royal Family (during the reign of\u00a0King Luis I\u00a0and his wife,\u00a0Maria Pia of Savoy), their architect, Possid\u00f3nio da Silva, introduced many aesthetic changes and turned one of the lateral fa\u00e7ades into the main fa\u00e7ade.<\/p>\n In 1726, King\u00a0John V of Portugal\u00a0acquired three farms in the parish of Bel\u00e9m: one became the Palace of Bel\u00e9m; on the second parcel an Oratory, which was eventually expanded, becoming the Palace of Necessidades; and the third reserved for a summer residence that never materialized during his reign.<\/p>\n On 1 November 1755, on the day of the\u00a01755 Lisbon earthquake, the Royal Family was in Bel\u00e9m, and escaped the destruction of Lisbon by the earthquake and tsunami. Perturbed by the events, King\u00a0Joseph\u00a0refused to live under a residence of masonry,\u00a0and took refuge in a wooden shack next to the Palace of the Counts of \u00d3bidos (packed with tapestries from the\u00a0Quinta de Baixo<\/i>). As the Royal family continued to fear for the viability of the\u00a0Ribeira Palace\u00a0in Lisbon, the King ordered the construction of a more permanent wooden building in the heights of Alto da Ajuda;\u00a0the architects Petr\u00f3nio Mazzoni and Ver\u00edssimo Jorge began building an elaborate structure from wood collected from the Vale de Figueira pinery.\u00a0The\u00a0Real Barraca<\/i>\u00a0(Royal Tent<\/i>), or\u00a0Pa\u00e7o de Madeira<\/i>\u00a0(Wood Palace<\/i>) was completed on 20 September 1761 (and the first baptism was held in its chapel), but, owing to a risk of collapse, the theatre (which was considered a risk by architect Jo\u00e3o Carlos Bibiena) was reconstructed from 1767 to 1786 by Giacomo Azzolini. The court remained at this site for nearly three decades, in a luxurious atmosphere of the golden age of enlightened despotism, until the King’s death in 1777.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Since his successor, Queen\u00a0Maria I of Portugal\u00a0lived with\u00a0Peter III\u00a0in thePalace of Queluz\u00a0at the time of Joseph’s death, the\u00a0Royal Barraca<\/i>\u00a0was vacated.<\/p>\n In November 1794, during the reign of\u00a0Queen Mary I\u00a0and the\u00a0Prince-Regent, the\u00a0royal tent<\/i>\u00a0was destroyed by fire, although the fire-fighters were able to save the library and church.\u00a0A more permanent dwelling was conceived by the architect\u00a0Jos\u00e9 da Costa e Silva. Starting on 17 July 1795 the rubble and terrain was cleared, which continued on 27 July under the direction of Ant\u00f3nio Vicente. The first cornerstone was laid on 9 November under the direction of\u00a0Manuel Caetano de Sousa\u00a0(with a secondary project under the supervision of German Xavier de Magalh\u00e3es).\u00a0<\/span>It was conceived as a\u00a0Baroque-late\u00a0Rococo\u00a0building, but the construction was interrupted shortly after. As of 19 May 1796 the project was supplied by the\u00a0masons\u00a0Francisco Ant\u00f3nio and Joaquim Baptista, who brought in stone from\u00a0Monsanto, sand from\u00a0Alfeite,\u00a0calcium oxide\u00a0cooked in\u00a0Alc\u00e2ntara, tile from the\u00a0Alhandra, with\u00a0limestone\u00a0provided from\u00a0P\u00earo Pinheiro,\u00a0Belas, Vila Ch\u00e3 and\u00a0Monsanto. The intervention of many architects resulted in a royal decree (9 December 1801) that stated that alterations to the project could only be made in agreement with\u00a0Manuel Caetano de Sousa, Joaquim de Oliveira,\u00a0Jos\u00e9 da Costa e Silva\u00a0and\/or Francisco Xavier Fabri (as long as it economized on the project costs). But, Manuel Caetano de Sousa designed an overly complicated and intricate Baroque building (which was later criticized by Costa e Silva and Fabri in 1801). But, with mounting confusion and difficulties between the architects and contractors, on 21 January 1802, Jos\u00e9 da Costa e Silva and Fabri were invited by the Crown to present a new project, in conjunction with Ant\u00f3nio Francisco Rosa and Manuel Joaquim de Sousa, while excluding Manuel Caetano de Sousa.<\/p>\n In 1802 Manuel Caetano de Sousa died, and by 26 June, Costa e Silva and Fabri were appointed official architects.\u00a0Costa e Silva and Fabri respected what was already constructed, but introduced necessary alterations to change the Royal Palace into a more dignified, serious and majestic building. Consequently, the plan was simplified and reduced to a core structured around two courtyards, with the same level of ornamentation, but now much more refined.<\/p>\n On 2 July 1802, the monarch solicited the\u00a0Marquis of Alorna\u00a0to study the future paintings that would occupy its walls. Domingos Sequeira and Vieira Portuense were contracted to paint the property, accompanied by Joaquim Greg\u00f3rio da Silva Rato, Manuel Prieto, Taborda, Fuschini and Calisto, while Italian decorators Manuel da Costa and Giuseppe Viale were hired to decorate the mansion. Similarly, sculptors Machado de Castro (who created three sculptors), Carlo Amatucci (some), Jo\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 de Aguiar, and his assistant Greg\u00f3rio Viegas (executed ten statues), Joaquim Jos\u00e9 de Barros Labor\u00e3o and Manuel Joaquim Labor\u00e3o (completed six statues), while Faustino Jos\u00e9 Rodrigues and his son, Francisco Assis Rodrigues, were contracted to complete three sculptures. In 1803, Carlos Amatucci completed the sculpture of\u00a0Liberdade<\/i>.<\/p>\n Following the tragic deaths of members of the Royal Family in 1861 from\u00a0typhoid fever, there were many who counselled King\u00a0Lu\u00eds\u00a0to abandon the Palace of Necessidades.\u00a0After being acclaimed King (22 December 1861), Lu\u00eds moved temporarily with to the Palace of Pa\u00e7o de Arcos, while remodelling occurred at Ajuda to adapt the building to become the new Royal Residence.\u00a0At the same time, a match was made between Lu\u00eds and\u00a0Maria Pia of Savoy, daughter of King\u00a0Victor Emmanuel II\u00a0of Italy, who were married in 1861; on 16 April 1862, the new King and his wife, moved into the Palace transforming it into the formal Royal Residence.<\/p>\n In order to become liveable, the King directed Possid\u00f3nio da Silva and Costa Sequeira to renovate and remodel the building, primarily based on the tastes of the Queen.\u00a0The old\u00a0Sala do Dossel<\/i>, the audience hall, was renamed the\u00a0Sala das Tape\u00e7arias Espanholas<\/i>, because of the Spanish tapestries found in the space (which were produced by the\u00a0Real F\u00e1brica de Santa B\u00e1rbara de Madrid<\/i>\u00a0with designs by\u00a0Francisco de Goya). These tapestries were a gift from Spain in 1785, in honour of the royal wedding of the Prince John VI and\u00a0Carlota Joaquina. Similarly, the three crystal chandeliers were installed in the hall on the occasion of the marriage of Lu\u00eds and\u00a0Maria Pia of Savoy. An interior vestibule was transformed into aWinter Garden<\/i>(Portuguese:\u00a0Jardim de Inverno<\/i><\/span>). Possid\u00f3nio da Silva also covered the ceiling murals with a painted ceiling covered in genies,\u00a0sphinx\u00a0and\u00a0chimeras, on which were later applied\u00a0agate\u00a0and\u00a0chalcedony\u00a0stones (gifts from the Viceroy of Egypt) in addition to Portuguese marble. The\u00a0Sala do Fumo<\/i>\u00a0(Smoking Room<\/i>) was constructed in carved wood. The\u00a0Sala Azul<\/i>\u00a0(Blue Room<\/i>) was decorated as a reception room, and the workers tore up gold wallpaper and replaced the painted cornice with a real one. In the office adjacent to the\u00a0Winter Garden<\/i>, the walls were lined in pink velvet to house a collection from Saxony and the ceiling stucco was painted with representations of birds and views of Italy and Lisbon, by Giuseppe and Cinatti Achille Rambois, while the furniture was selected by Krieger, Suc. Racault of Paris. The\u00a0Sala Verde<\/i>\u00a0(Green Room<\/i>) received new ceiling stucco with base relief ornamentation and gold-leaf. Renovations also proceeded in the palace chapel, Queen’s washroom and dining room by Leandro Braga, who was also assisted by Atelier responsible for the King’s painting studio and personal library. It was during this remodelling that the painting\u00a0Chegada de D. Jo\u00e3o VI<\/i>, in the ballroom by the artist Fuschini disappeared.<\/p>\n In the meantime, on 28 September 1863, the Infante Carlos (later King\u00a0Carlos of Portugal) was born in the\u00a0Sala Verde<\/i>\u00a0(Green Room<\/i>).<\/p>\n Other additions to the palace followed in subsequent years: in 1863, a bust of Maria Pia was executed by\u00a0Santo Varni; an inlaid table was completed by Focentino Eugenio Azgnani (a wedding gift to Maria Pia, from the city of\u00a0Faenza); in 1865,the execution of the sculpture by Musidora Odoardo Fantachiotti (1809\u20131877); Maria Pia solicited Possid\u00f3nio da Silva to substitute the painting in the ceiling of the\u00a0Sala de M\u00fasica<\/i>\u00a0(Music Room<\/i>), the allegorical scene painted by\u00a0Jos\u00e9 da Cunha Taborda\u00a0and\u00a0Arcangelo Fuschini, was substituted by one commissioned by Felisberto Ant\u00f3nio Botelho; the\u00a0Sala Azul<\/i>\u00a0(Blue Room<\/i>) was lined in silk; in 1866, a marble statue,\u00a0Tangedoura do Pandeiro<\/i>was completed by Giovanni Dupr\u00e9 (1817\u20131882); in 1867, the parquet floor in the\u00a0Sala do Despacho<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Sala dos Contadores<\/i>\u00a0was completed by Godefroy, a joiner in the Belgian Royal House; the execution of the sculpture\u00a0Mulher com bilha \u00e0 cabe\u00e7a<\/i>\u00a0by Anatole Calmels; the execution of a bust of King Luis, also by Anatole Calmels; in 1869, the execution of the sculpture\u00a0Leda<\/i>\u00a0by C\u00e9sare Sighinolfi; a painting of the King was also completed of the King by the painter Ant\u00f3nio Rodrigues da Silva; in 1870,\u00a0Maria Pia mascarada<\/i>\u00a0by\u00a0Joseph Layraud; in 1873, work on the parquet floor in the\u00a0Sala Azul<\/i>(Blue Room<\/i>) by Joseph Godefroy; in 1874, paintings of the Princes Carlos and Afonso in the\u00a0Sala Rosa<\/i>\u00a0(Pink Room<\/i>) were completed by Joseph Layraud.<\/p>\n By the end of the 19th century, new exterior restorations had begun, under the direction of Domingos Parente da Silva, while new additions continued within the interior: in 1875, a sculpture of Maria Pia was completed by\u00a0C\u00e9sare Sighinolfi; in 1876, a painting in miniature of Lu\u00eds and Maria Pia by\u00a0Michele Gordigiani; in 1879, a new parquet floor in the\u00a0Sala do Archeiros<\/i>\u00a0(Archer’s Hall<\/i>) and the\u00a0Sala do Porteiro da Cana<\/i>\u00a0by Mardel Magalh\u00e3es was begun; a painting of a canvas representing Humberto I by\u00a0A. Jangiovanni\u00a0was also installed in the same year; in 1881, the sculpture\u00a0O Saltimbanco<\/i>\u00a0by Sim\u00f5es de Almeida was executed; in 1886, the a sculpture of\u00a0Victor Emmanuel II, by\u00a0Joaquim Santos; in 1887, paintings over the doors of the Queen’s vanity by\u00a0Ernesto Condeixa; in 1890, the portrait of Infante Carlos for the ante-chamber of the\u00a0Sala do Despacho<\/i>\u00a0was completed by Jos\u00e9 Malhoa; in 1891, a new marble floor for the\u00a0Sala dos Embaixadores<\/i>\u00a0(Ambassador’s Hall<\/i>) commission by Ant\u00f3nio Moreira Rato & Filhos was installed;<\/p>\n After the death of her husband, Queen Maria Pia continued to live in the palace with her son, the Infante Afonso.\u00a0Although King\u00a0Carlos of Portugal\u00a0began to reside in the Palace of Necessidades, the palace (although residence of the Queen Mother) was reserved for official ceremonies, including banquets and receptions, such as those in honour of\u00a0Edward VII\u00a0of England,\u00a0Alfonso XIII\u00a0of Spain,\u00a0Wilhelm II\u00a0of Germany or President\u00a0Emile Loubet\u00a0of France.\u00a0Carlos made few changes to the Palace, although he was responsible for ordering two large pots in Berlin from the Parisian factory of the Duke d’Angoul\u00eame, for the\u00a0Sala do Trono<\/i>\u00a0(Throne Room<\/i>). Similarly, on the occasion of the King\u00a0Edward VII’s visit, he also ordered new chairs for\u00a0Sala da Ceia<\/i>\u00a0(Dining Room<\/i>).\u00a0Manuel II\u00a0remained in residence at the Palace of Necessidades following the death of the King and Crown Prince in the\u00a0Lisbon Regicide, during the tumultuous years before the revolution.<\/p>\n The Ajuda National Palace is located on a hilltop of the central part of the parish of\u00a0Ajuda\u00a0overlooking the historic centre of\u00a0Lisbon\u00a0and\u00a0Tagus River, south of the\u00a0Monsanto Forest Park. Its main access way in theLargo da Ajuda<\/i>\u00a0on the eastern side of the property, but it is also transited by the\u00a0Cal\u00e7ada do Mirante \u00e0 Ajuda<\/i>\u00a0(north) and\u00a0Rua dos Marcos<\/i>\u00a0(west). Although the Palace occupies a block on the heights of Ajuda, its delineated space extends to several gardens and lands around the main building. This includes: the\u00a0Jardim das Damas<\/i>\u00a0(Lady’s Garden<\/i>) fronting the northern fa\u00e7ade of the Palace; the\u00a0Sala da Fisica<\/i>\u00a0(Physics Hall<\/i>), in the north-eastern corner fronting the Palace; the clock-tower, also known as the\u00a0Torre do Galo<\/i>(Rooster’s Tower<\/i>), isolated in front of the Palace; and the larger\u00a0Jardim Botanico<\/i>\u00a0(Botanical Garden<\/i>), southwest and across the street from the Palace.<\/p>\n One of the earliest neoclassical buildings in Lisbon, the palace is an irregular rectangular building, divided into four wings (with the western wing being incomplete) around a large quadrangle, paved with Portuguese\u00a0cal\u00e7ada\u00a0in geometric designs. Each wing is occupied by distinct entities: the eastern and southern wings are occupied by museum exhibitions of the Palace of Ajuda; the northern wing belongs to the installations of the\u00a0Instituto de Museus e Conserva\u00e7\u00e3o<\/i>\u00a0(Institute of Museums and Conservation<\/i>), the\u00a0Instituto de Gest\u00e3o do Patrim\u00f3nio Arquitect\u00f3nico e Arqueol\u00f3gico<\/i>\u00a0(Institute for Architectural Management and Archaeological Heritage<\/i>), part of theSecretaria-Geral do Minist\u00e9rio da Cultura<\/i>\u00a0(General Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture<\/i>), the Ajuda Library and a gallery for temporary exhibits.<\/p>\n The building evolved to a two-three storey structure, on an inclined plot of land, with a fa\u00e7ade of\u00a0ashlarlimestone. The main symmetrical fa\u00e7ade is oriented towards the east, with a central body and\u00a0tympanum, extending to two lateral towers. This fa\u00e7ade is two floors high, the inferior level marked by three arches, surmounted by (and separated by) Tuscan-Ionian columns supporting the secondary floor\/veranda. On the second floor of the main body, the space is protected by\u00a0balusters\u00a0protecting the three Roman arch-windows, surmounted by a frieze of garlands, and divided by six Tuscan-Ionic columns.<\/p>\n Between the central body and towers are eight panels consisting of two-floors and a mezzanine, each panel divided by two orders of columns: on the first floor Tuscan and on the second floor Tuscan-Ionic columns. The first floor windows are moulded and trimmed sills with cornices, while a similar number of windows on the upper floor are have veranda-like railings, surmounted by smaller square windows. The three-storey towers are also divided by Tuscan and Tuscan-Ionic columns: the first floor, have three windows and sills with angular cornices on the outside and rounded cornices on the interior; the intermediary floor has a comparable number of windows, while the third floor windows are surmounted by smaller windows (much like on the panels). The southern lateral fa\u00e7ade has three storeys, with 19 windows in succession, comparable to the main entrance, although there are a series of niches at the base. The uncompleted western fa\u00e7ade show signs of vestiges of various dependencies with a wall of open window sills\/arches with Tuscan pillars and access to the central courtyard by three rounded arches. Embedded in the vast foyer with a vaulted edge supported by Tuscan columns, has twenty-two marble statues, some signed and dated.<\/p>\n The vestibule is the main access to the Palace, the Library and Exhibition Gallery, which by is made through the vestibule, through a monumental staircase and rounded arches. The ample courtyard is paved in Portuguese\u00a0cal\u00e7ada, and is surrounded by two four-storey tall wings (north and south): the main floor, with central arch and doorway is flanked by rectangular windows surmounted by smaller square windows; and the superior floors, are composed of veranda-windows with simple frames and cornices and balusters\/guardrails.<\/p>\n The interior is laid out with interconnecting halls, with a central corridor of staircases and elevators.<\/p>\n On the main floor entrance hall, with a succession of the museum in lateral directions, there is a staircase beside two niches with the figures of\u00a0Justi\u00e7a<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Prud\u00eancia<\/i>, which access the\u00a0Sala dos Archeiros<\/i>\u00a0(Archers Hall<\/i>) completed by\u00a0Joaquim Machado de Castro\u00a0and his disciples. On this floor, in a linear path, the visitor follows through the following chambers and halls:<\/p>\n During State functions or celebrations, invited guests would enter via the vestibule and ascend the main staircase to the second floor of the Palace by way of the\u00a0Escadaria Nobre<\/i>. The enclosed staircase, is decorated with flourish carvings on the ceiling from the lower floor, which zigzags to the upper landing decorated with rounded stain glass with the royal coat of arms and painted ceiling. On the second floor of the palace lies:<\/p>\n The\u00a0Ajuda National Palace\u00a0is a\u00a0neoclassical\u00a0monument in the civil parish of\u00a0Ajuda\u00a0in the city of\u00a0Lisbon, central\u00a0Portugal. Built on the site of a temporary wooden building constructed to house the Royal family after the 1755 earthquake and tsunami, it was originally begun by architect Manuel Caetano de Sousa, who planned a late\u00a0Baroque-Rococo\u00a0building. Later, it was entrusted to\u00a0Jos\u00e9 da Costa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3595,"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592\/revisions\/3595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lisbonstopover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}History<\/span><\/h2>\n
Royal residence<\/span><\/h3>\n
Architecture<\/span><\/h2>\n
Exterior<\/span><\/h3>\n
Interior<\/span><\/h3>\n
First floor<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Second floor<\/span><\/h4>\n
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