Palace of Queluz

It eventually served as a discreet place of incarceration for Maria I, when she became afflicted by severe mental illness in the years following Peter III's death in 1786.

Following a serious fire in 1934, which gutted one-third of the interior, the palace was extensively restored, and today is open to the public as a major tourist attraction.

[4] From the beginning of the 18th century, many foreign artists and architects were employed in Portugal to satisfy the demands of the newly enriched aristocracy; they brought with them classical ideas of architecture which derived from the Renaissance.

[6] In its frivolity, the architecture of Queluz reflects the lifestyle led by the Portuguese royal family at the time of its construction; during the reign of Peter of Braganza's brother, Joseph I.

[4] Thus, the extravagant, almost whimsical, architecture of Queluz is so set apart from that of nearby Portuguese capital, Lisbon; representing the politics and social events during this era, as well as the carefree and flamboyant lives led by its occupants.

She and Peter III ruled jointly in his place; using the partially completed Queluz as a retreat from affairs of state in much the same way that Frederick the Great used his own Rococo palace, Sanssouci.

[9] Thus it came into the hands of Peter of Braganza, the second son of John V. The architect Mateus Vicente de Oliveira had trained under João Frederico Ludovice and Jean-Baptiste Robillon [fr][10] during the construction of the royal Palace of Mafra and its monastery.

As a result, when viewed from a distance, the palace resembles a series of long enfilades linked by higher pavilions, rather than one single construction.

Oliveira was directly responsible for the "Ceremonial Façade" of the "corps de logis", the rectangular block which forms the nucleus of the palace, and some of the interior courtyards.

Completed in 1779, it has a doric colonnade which runs the entire length of its western and southern façades, the roof of which provides a balustraded balcony accessible from the floor above (see key 10).

Owing to the topography of the site, the eastern side appears as a single-storey building, with only the upper floor visible above the ground in the "Hanging Garden".

Their design creates an illusion of a longer and higher perspective, centred on a corner of a terrace because of exigencies of the site, and divided mid-flight so as not to lead the eye and footstep towards an angle of the colonnade beyond.

Her eldest son, future King John VI, was then appointed Regent and ruled in her stead from Lisbon at the Palace of Mafra.

[15] In 2004, the World Monuments Fund began a program to restore the lead sculptures by British sculptor John Cheere, as well as some of the other features of the garden.

French artisans were employed to decorate the rooms, many of which are small; their walls and ceilings painted to depict allegorical and historical scenes.

One predominant feature of the interiors are the polychrome azulejo glazed tiles, often in a chinoiserie style, with blues and yellows contrasting with muted reds.

The Sala das Mangas (the only room in the state apartments to survive the 1934 fire intact) is a long gallery lined with tiled wall panels.

[20] The ormolu Rococo ornamentation takes the form of heavy gilding on the walls and ceiling, of such richness, that it has been compared to that of François de Cuvilliés' Amalienburg at Schloss Nymphenburg.

[18] This long, low room has a ceiling painted by Francisco de Melo, which depicts the Portuguese royal family attending a concert during the reign of Queen Maria I.

The throne dais, set in an apse, is flanked by gilded and mirrored columns, and the floor is a chequer board pattern of black and white marble tiles.

[13] Following Peter III's death, the Queen abandoned all festivities at the palace and state receptions assumed the air of religious ceremonies.

[14] Queluz and its chapel then became her permanent retreat from the world, until she was forced to flee from the advancing French in 1807 to Brazil, where she remained until her death in Rio de Janeiro in 1816.

The chapel beneath its large onion dome is dark, cavernous, and decorated in carved giltwood, with its detailing highlighted in red, green, blue and pink; created by Portuguese sculptor Silvestre Faria Lobo.

A feature of the chapel is the ornate, portable font; its marble basin resting in an elaborate Rococo frame, surmounted by a carved wood cover.

[24] Queluz is famed for the glory of its gardens,[10] which include a large topiary parterre laid out in the manner of André Le Nôtre at the rear of the palace (see key 14).

The dominant feature of the principal parterre is the Portico dos Cavalinhos, a garden temple flanked by two allegorical equestrian statues depicting Fames and two sphinxes surreally dressed in 18th-century costume—combining the formal and the fantastic.

[28] This surreal theme continues elsewhere in the gardens where such motifs as the rape of the Sabines and the death of Abel alternate with statuary of donkeys dressed in human clothing.

During the 18th century, the canals were the setting for fêtes champêtres, during which fully rigged ships would sail in processions with figures aboard in allegorical costumes.

These gardens are set within tall hedges of yew and cypress, as well as magnolia and mulberry trees planted by Jean-Andoche Junot during the French occupation in the Napoleonic Wars.

[14] On the royal family's return from exile in 1821, King John VI preferred to live at the Palace of Mafra, leaving his wife, Queen Carlota Joaquina, to occupy Queluz with her aunt Princess Maria Francisca Benedita.