SINTRA, Portugal
We set up a private tour of Sintra so we could skip lines and have our own guide provide the history and information on the sites we wanted to visit. The night before the guide texted us and asked if we would be willing to share our tour with a other couple because one of their guides tested positive for covid. Our guide, Ruben, picked us up from our hotel early in the morning and we set off for Sintra. Upon arrival in Sintra, we stopped for coffee and pastry at a Cafe the locals go to, that has been in Sintra for 90 years. He bought us our coffeeand selected a really great cinnamon pastry for us.
Afterwords, we went to pick up the other couple, that were staying in an amazing 200 acre Ritz Carlton Penha Longa Resort there in Sintra. The gounds were absolutely breathtaking complete with two world class golf courses spread through the lush hillsides.
The Pattersons, who joined us were in their late 30`s and early 40's on their honeymoon, and they were from Long Beach, so we had a connection with them. Landon works for a winery in the Napa Valley that sells exclusive wines, and his wife is a financial advisor. They turned out to be great traveling companions that share many common interests with us.
PENA PALACE
Our first stop was a visit to Pena Palace which is a fairytale castle that sits like a jewel on the highest mountain of Sintra.This Palace was constructed by King Fernando II, a lover of Sintra, as a holiday residence for the Royal family and who saw in this space, on top of a rocky mountain, an idyllic, magical and quite romantic place.
Our guide stops us as we look up at the palace from the walkway to explain some of the history and the architecture of the palace. The history of this magical site reaches back to the 12th century, a point in time when there was a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena here. On this same location, King Manuel I ordered the construction of a Monastery, the Royal Monastery of Our Lady of Pena. In 1834, following the abolition of religious orders in Portugal, it was abandoned. Two years later, in 1836, Queen Maria II married Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a prince in this noble household and nephew of the ruling King Leopold I of Belgium. According to the nuptial contract, Ferdinand was bestowed with the status of King-consort. Ferdinand II was one of the most cultured men of 19th century Portugal and he fell in love with the Monastery when he visited Sintra, so he bought it, and originally planned to remodel the Monastery for his summer palace.
The original Monastery is the yellow and red buildings with the clock tower. Ferdinand was schooled in the arts and architecture made changes throughout to romantically transform the Castle for his Queen Maria, so he painted the structure yellow and red and added the modern clock to the tower.
His enthusiasm led him to opt for the construction of a palace and extending the pre-existing construction great fusion of architectural styles, from Romanticism, Gothic, Manueline, Renaissance with Indian, Masonic and other inspirations, with a nod to Portuguese architecture.
The building is circled by other architectural structures that appeal to the medieval imaginary, such as the parapet paths, the lookout towers. The palace incorporates architectural styles that together produce a surprising scenario reminding me of the fairytale “A thousand and one nights.”
We pass through the first entry into the palace and are amazed by the artistry and detail incorporated into each element of the palace. Ruben asks us if we understand the symbolism incorporated in the doorway. You can see the Indian influence in the shape often doorway. He explains that the Portuguese tiles of green are for Portugal and the blue tiles are the crest of the Belgian royalty. The hand at the very top welcoming all who enter and the key over the opening represents opening your mind to new experiences.
Ruben and the Pattersons are in the foreground walking up to the entrance arch.
Moving up the path we come to the Monumental Gate. The Monumental Gate is a triumphal arch where features of Portuguese 16th century architecture can be observed.The façade covered with diamond-shape reliefs. The top of the ach is the Coat of Arms of Ferdinand's family, the Crosses are for the Knights Templar, and the center crest is for Portugal. Behind this Gate is the drawbridge.
We did not enter through this gate like most visitors, instead Ruben our guide, took us through the gift shop up to the patio above, which had stunning views of the castle and Sintra. This part of the palace is where the servants lived and the kitchen was located.
We walked around the corner to Tritans Terrace where we were greeted by an an awe inspiring entrance with a sculpture of the half-man and half-fish, Triton. The gateway, like the monster Triton, is divided between the aquatic and terrestrial worlds. The aquatic world is on the lower floor: the Neogothic arch is decorated with corals that hold up three shells with the Triton sat upon one. Above, we pass into the terrestrial world as demonstrated by the tree that is born out of the head of the Triton, set within the grape vines that cover all of the protruding window that the monster seems to be holding up. It incorporates the four elements of water, earth, wind and fire.
We were all really impressed by the intricate detail of Triton and all the sculptures and architectural features of the palace. It is evident that Ferdinand was very creative and artistic. Even the tiles throughout the palace intermixed the Portuguese, Belgian, Moorish, and Masonic/Templar influence represented in the Castle.
Throughout the palace the use of tiles was unique. in may places they utilized multiple tiles and designs. Representing Moorish influence, Masonic Knights Templar, Belgian Royalty and Portuguese patterns and styles. it was used in entrys, facade walls and accents. I have provided a small sampling in the video here.
Our next stop was the Chapel, whose entrance has a patio that over looks the courtyard of windows and has an entrance to the walk along the walls.
All figures are linked to the history of the Palace and Portugal: Our Lady of Pena (worshiped in Sintra since the Middle Ages), Saint George (patron saint of Portugal, the second homeland of King Ferdinand), King Manuel I (builder of the original Pena Convent) and Vasco da Gama (who gave the reason for the construction of the original convent). The group is crowned by the coats of arms of Saxony and Portugal.
But the really interesting item is in the bottom left hand panel shows the King holding Pena Palace as it was built as a Monastery with none of the additions, colorful painting or Clock tower. However, if you look closely at the window of the chapel you can see a duplication of this stained glass window foretelling the new Pena Palace.
Inside the chapel opposite the alter is a stain glass window with a story about the history of the Palace.
Leaving the chapel took a walk along the wall and were shown dramatic vistas of the landscape that surround the palace and were even able to look down on the Castelo do Morros which is the original gothic palace built by the moors. It looks to me similar to the great wall of China with the walkways around the walls of the castle.
We then exited the Castle over the drawbridge to survey the romantic grounds that Ferdinand created for his Queen. The Grounds are huge, and a maze of footpaths. It was lovely and quiet, with some beautiful views of the Palace.
I expected to see and hear lots of animals and birds around the park, but as the trees were planted by King Ferdinand, they are not natural to the area, so not many animals have become accustomed to the ‘new’ environment. In places, it is eerily quiet, but lovely to get a break from the hectic Pena Palace.
While walking down the paths we found a domed building at the intersection of pathways which we discovered was a water house. The water is from streams inside the mountain which was tapped to provide a spigot with running water. The water was cool and fresh .
The Vale dos Lagos (Valley of the Lakes) is a particularly pretty part which starts just below the palace and runs gently downhill towards the lower exit gates. The lakes are a series of small man-made ponds, rather than great lakes but as you stroll beside them, you’ll see fish, snowy white geese, a lush entanglement of greenery, ferns and mossy walls and grottoes
An unexpected delight towards the end is a number of charming duck-houses. Sitting in the middle of the lake, they look like small castles, complete with turrets. Clearly someone had a taste for the whimsical.
Quinta da Regaleira
Sintra is filled with many extravagant 19th century villas, but none are more intriguing than the Quinta da Regaleira.The Regaleira Palace is the largest building in and common name given to Quinta da Regaleira. Also known as "Palace of the Monteiro Millionaire", a reference to the surname of its former owner, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro.
Beyond the palace, on the estate's four hectares, there are lakes, caves, enigmatic buildings, luxurious gardens, and other spaces heavy with alchemical, Masonic, Templar or even Ross-Cross symbolism. When the Sintra foothills become shrouded in fog, as is often the case, the estate itself becomes shrouded in a dense aura of mystery. The estate was not shrouded in fog but it was a densely cloudy day so it was beautifully foreboding an mysterious so it was easy to imagine how it would be so mysterious with the fog.
The scenery at Quinta da Regaleira appears to have come straight out of an opera scene. The set formed by the palace, the chapel, the initiation well, lakes, sculptures, the towers, artificial caves, viewpoints, spaces of assembly, and other enchanting recesses take us to a world far-removed from our day-to-day reality.
The iconographic richness of each piece of stonework, sometimes encrypted, invites everyone to try and decipher it. The symbols, figures, objects, emblems, cards, shapes and other elements are surprising.
This 88-foot-deep well was never used as a well and, in fact, was never built to serve as a water resource at all. It was actually built for secret ceremonial purposes.
The Initiation Well, in some way, is an entrance to the underground labyrinth too. It is connected to other entrances via a series of underground walkways. The Initiation Well has a striking spiral staircase supported by carved columns, that lead down to the bottom of the well through its nine landings. It is believed that the spacing of these landings, as well as the number of steps in between, are linked to Tarot mysticism and Masonic principles. At the bottom of the Initiation Well is a compass over a Knights Templar cross, which is said to have been the coat of arms of Carvalho Monteiro
As we descended the steps in the well we felt as though we were entering Dante's entrance to Hell. At the base was a walkway through caves which added to the sense that we were in the underworld. At the end of the cave we were greeted with a stunning view of a pond and backside of a waterfall as we exited the cave back into the gardens.
The caves are not natural. They are all man made to add to the mystery of the palace.
Looking across the grounds toward the house from the hillside of the garden. you can see another small structure which is a chapel. The chapel was used in the rituals of the Knights Templar initiation by the owner of this mysterious and grand residence.
Upon a closer look at the residence we could see the incorporation of Gargoyles in the intricate design of the Palace.
