He was a Knight in the Order of Christ, alcalde of Ervededo, Overseer and Judge of Braga, Chancellor of Relação, attorney-general of Mitra, represented the city in the 1667 Cortes in Lisbon.

[1] In the course of this work, a ceiling painting in the main hall was executed by painter Manuel Furtado de Mendonça (in 1724), and later, azulejo tile, which came from fabricators in Coimbra.

[1] Gonçalo Pereira da Silva de Sousa e Menezes (1797-1856), Count of Bertiandos, member of the council of Queen D. Maria II, Peer of the Kingdom, Civil Governor of Braga and attorney of the 1928 Cortes.

[1] His daughter, Joana Maria do Rosário Francisca Sales Pereira da Silva de Sousa e Menezes (1818-1874), second Countess of Bertiandos, lading-in-waiting of Queens D. Estefânia and D.

[1] In 1963, the building was acquired by the District Junta from the Viscount of Paço de Nespereira, in order to install a museum, with work initiated under the responsibility of Alberto da Silva Bessa.

[1] The large entranceway was structured in a way to permit carriages, and other vehicles, to enter by way of a covered patio, that served simultaneously as principal entrance and passage to the stables and gardens.

[1] Inside the bulwark's simulacrum is a small temple with dome and lantern, that contains sepulchral slabs dedicated to the former-gentry the masters of the house.

[1] The estate is divided into three terraces, rising slightly from the house to the west, separated by walls crowned with tile planting boxes.

[1] It occupies a rectangular terrace surrounded by a wall with tiled floor, decorated pyramids, urns and statuary statues, over the access gates, on the side viewpoints and at the angles, together with the raised beds.