In 1540, the eighth governor of Portuguese India, Estêvão de Gama, proposed the idea of constructing some fortifications to guard the entrance to the Goa harbor.

The Cabo (Portuguese for "cape") was converted into one of the best equipped and important fortresses over the years, although these days nothing remains of the old citadel that served as the Franciscan Convent.

The small church founded in 1541[3] at the very end of the mansion is dedicated to Our Lady of The Cape (Nossa Senhora do Cabo).

[citation needed] Indeed, it is said to hold the title as the oldest as no other residence of a governor of India has its origin over four hundred years ago.

An excellent collection of high quality solid wooden furniture with exquisite workmanship adorn some of the spaces in this palatial mansion.

A set of intricately carved chairs with figurines of Hindu gods and temples indicate the complete harmony between Christians and Hindus that existed in Goa.

Carved furniture of ingenious and rare workmanship form part of the collections of the palace – the quality of which has not diminished even after use for centuries, owing to the up-keep.

[5] The over 500 year old Catholic church also known as Nossa Senhora do Cabo occupies a corner on the site with views of the bay and sea.

It is open for morning masses on all Sundays as well as on special occasions like Christmas, Easter and the annual church feast.

[7] A small distance away from the main church located on the slope, after descending through steps is the grotto dedicated to St. Paula.

The altar in this grotto is installed in a cut-out of the cape rock and holds the saint's sculpture in a recumbent position.

The history associated with it as written on a board hung at the place, states as follows: "St. Paula (347 – 404 A.D.), a Roman Senator's widow and her daughter Eustochium were living an austere life in Rome when St. Jerome (341 – 420 A.D.) came there from Palestine in 383 A.D. Four years later, mother and daughter followed the great doctor to Palestine and went with him to Egypt to visit the hermits in the Nitrain desert.

About 5 hectares of the flat table land is occupied by buildings, gardens, lawns, and the remaining is full of vegetation consisting of large number of species of trees, plants, shrubs, creepers, etc.

In its form, the estate seems to serve as a treasure-house of bio-diversity incorporating the diverse flora and fauna of the Western Ghats.

[10] On the western side just a three minutes drive from the main palace through the dense vegetation is a spot named "Cannon Point".

British military personnel were stationed in Goa from 1799 to 1813, in order to assist the Portuguese against the French First Empire during the Peninsular War.

During this period the British also constructed several edifices in the Forte Aguada, Gasper Dias and Mormugão areas but most of these were demolished by the Portuguese in 1848 leaving little presence, if any, of their arrival.

He stated: "I visited the burial ground at Cabo built and used by the British force of 10,000 (sic) men when they held possession of the seaboard points of Goa, to prevent the French entering India by this route in 1805.

If it be true, as I have heard, that the Collector of Belgaum allows an annual sum to keep in order, I can assure him that not a piece worth of care is bestowed on it."