Episcopal Palace, Porto

The original Episcopal Palace of Porto was built in the 12th or 13th century, as attested by some architectural vestiges like romanesque-style windows that exist inside the present building.

During the 16th and 17th centuries the palace was greatly enlarged, and an old drawing shows it to be composed of a series of buildings with towers, as was typical for the architecture of Portuguese manor houses of the period.

It is believed that the project for the Bishop's Palace was drawn in 1734 by the Italian Nicolau Nasoni, an architect with an extense work in Porto and surroundings.

The works were only finished in the last decades of the 18th century, under the rule of Bishop Rafael de Mendonça, whose coat-of-arms is located on the main portal and the inner monumental staircase of the palace.

During the Siege of Porto of 1832, the bishop fled the city and the palace was used by Peter IV's troops as stronghold in the battle against Miguel I.