Bemposta Palace

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Coordinates: 38°43′24.58″N 9°8′17.46″W / 38.7234944°N 9.1381833°W / 38.7234944; -9.1381833
Palace of Bemposta (Palácio de Bemposta)
Paço da Rainha
Palace (Palácio)
Official name: Palace of Bemposta
Name origin: bemposta
Nickname: Bemposta
Country  Portugal
Region Lisbon
Sub-region Grande Lisboa
District Lisbon
Municipality Lisbon
Location Pena
 - elevation 69 m (226 ft)
 - coordinates 38°43′24.58″N 9°8′17.46″W / 38.7234944°N 9.1381833°W / 38.7234944; -9.1381833
Length 70.64 m (232 ft), Southwest-Northeast
Width 19.72 m (65 ft), Northwest-Southeast
Architects João Antunes, Manuel Caetano de Sousa
Style Neoclassical
Materials Marble, Limestone, Wood, Steel
Origin c. 1693
 - Initiated 6 January 1501
 - Completion c. 1700
Renovation c. 1755
 - Renovation c. 1822
 - Renovation c. 1824
 - Renovation c. 1825
 - Renovation c. 1837
Owner Portuguese Republic
For public Public
Visitation Closed
Management Portuguese Army
Operator Portuguese Military Academy
Status National Monument
Listing Decree No.5-2002, 19 February 2002 (Chapel)
Location of the Palace of Bemposta within the municipality of Lisbon
Wikimedia Commons: Palácio de Bemposta (Lisbon)

The Bemposta Palace (Palácio da Bemposta), also known as the Paço da Rainha (Residence of the Queen), is a neoclassical palace originally ordered built by the Dowager-Queen Catherine of Braganza after returning to Lisbon, in the area of Bemposta, now the civil parish of Pena. After many years as her residence, the building was transferred to the Casa do Infantada, before becoming the residence of John VI of Portugal (until his death). It was re-purposed after Queen Maria II of Portugal transferred its title to the Army, who established its Portuguese Military Academy.

History

Catherine of Braganza, Queen England, Scotland, Ireland, Infanta of Portugal.
John VI, Emperor of Brazil, King of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves.

Following the death of Charles II of England (in 1685), and leaving no legitimate heir to the throne, the Queen Catherine of Braganza (daughter of John IV) returned to Portugal in 1693.[1][2] Without a home in Lisbon, she resided in the homes of various noblemen for a time, including the Count of Redondo in Santa Maria or the palace of the Count of Aveiras, in Belém.[2] The dowager Queen decided to purchase from Francisca Pereira Teles, the noble homes and fields in the center of Lisbon, in the area of Bemposta, in order to build her residence.[2] As there had already existed a chapel dating back to 1501, she requested that the architect, João Antunes (1642–1712), incorporate a chapel on the site plan to the invocation of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Our Lady of the Conception).[2][3] The project began in 1694, with Antunes coming on board in 1702, and by 1702 the Queen had already begun living in the palace.[3] The building was a mixed construction: limestone and marble was used in many of the flourishes, but the structure was built of reinforced steel, wood and masonry.[3]

Catherine died on 31 December 1705 in this residence, leaving in her testament the Palace of Bemposta to her brother, the King Peter II of Portugal.[2][3] Peter occupied this home during his two regencies of Portugal: first, marching the Army to support the Archduke Charles of Austria during the War of Spanish Succession, and later in 1705, during the illness of his brother. On 29 October 1706 a royal chapel was constructed.[3]

Later, King John V, in 1707, donated the House of the Infantado to the dependencies of the Royal family, that included both the Palace itself and the lands surrounding.[2] It became the residence of the Portuguese monarchy's Infantes and Infantas of the realm, such as Infante Francis, Duke of Beja (King John V's brother), one of the King's natural children (referred to as John of Bemposta) in 1742, and the Infante Peter.[3]

After the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, the palace required extensive reconstruction, including the Royal chapel which was completely destroyed. Under the direction of Manuel Caetano de Sousa (1742–1802), the building was remodeled and an elaborate chapel was constructed, with a rectangular vestibule and nave and polychromatic mosaics. In main altar, a portrait of the Royal Family, Queen Maria I and the Infante John with the court, in an iconographic representation of Lisbon, seen from the Castle of São Jorge. The success of the chapel, came from the contribution of the woodworkers from the Church of São Roque (and in particular the Chapel of São João Baptista). A similar design esthetic was also brought in from the Royal Chapel in the Queluz Palace. The Bemposta Palace had its own singers (since 1759) that incorporated an organist and singers, that were contracted and regularly performed in Lisbon.[4] But, the organ had already been spirited away to the Palace of Queluz by 1778.[3]

The palace too began to be abandoned, as the royals move to other preferred lodgings: by 1798 the palace was already abandoned and falling into ruins.[3]

In 1803, the Prince-Regent, (future King John VI) lived at Bemposta.[1][3] Even after the return of the Royal Family, in 1821, John returned to Bemposta, and with the intent of making the residence more habitable, began various renovations in 1822, 1824 and 1825, principally in the rooms behind the chapel and on the floor near the gardens. At Bemposta the politics of King John VI's reign played-out: including the events of the insurrections known as the Vila-Francada and Abrilada, and his eventual death (he died in his personal quarters, on 10 March 1826).

In 1828, King Miguel began holding weekly audiences in the Palace.[3]

The designation as Casa da Infantada was removed in 1833, and the Palace is incorporated into the Crown's property. Until 18 March 1834, a formal political administration occupied the Bemposta Palace, but it was vacated and returned to Crown estates under Queen Maria II. Yet, the Queen later transferred the palace to the Army in 1837, where, after 1851, it began to function as an Army Academy (after extensive remodelling in 1850–1851), where, under General Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, 1st Marquess of Sá da Bandeira, the building was expanded and interior remodelled. In 1853, the chapel, until this time a private hermitage, began to be open to the faith community. With changes in the urban planning in Lisbon, the area in front of the palace became reduced, and traffic along the avenue resulted in the shortening of the main outside staircase in 1860 (with the widening of the road).[3]

In 1944, there was a restoration of the chapel complete, followed in 1997 by a renovation of the electrical and fire prevention systems in order to meet safety standards.[3]

On 13 September 1999, an analysis of the architectural state was begun by the Direcção-Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (DGEMN) (General-Directorate for Buildings and National Monuments). The Palace pertains to the Portuguese Military Academy, and the coat-of-arms of Queen Catherine are still visible above the principal doors of the building.[3][5]

In 2001, a monument to Queen Catherine was installed in front of the buildings façade.[3]

Architecture

The front façade of the Bemposta Palace taken in 1939
The ornate side porticos of the Palace, showing the traditional neoclassical entrances

The Palace of Bemposta is located in the Largo do Paço da Rainha on the eastern border of Pena with Anjos. The principal building, used by the military academy, fronts the Largo (square) across from the clock-tower and Mitelo Palace, in proximity of the Quartel do Cabeço da Bola, Jardim do Campo Mártires da Pátria (Garden of Campo Mártires da Pátria) and Miguel Bombarda Hospital.[3]

The front façade includes two staircases that ribbon towards the main floor and veranda with balusters.[2][3] The main arched doorway are flanked by two sets of tall windows, while a secondary floor veranda with main window is also flanked by two other sets (the central window, which is much taller than the others, is surmounted by sculpted coat-of-arms of the royal family. This façade is completed by a triangular wall adorned by the relief of two seraphs adoring the Virgin Mary (by the sculptor Joaquim de Barros Laborão, surmounted by a cross above a plinth.[3] In the chapel's atrium there are two niches with statutes of Saint Elizabeth and John the Baptist (started by José de Almeida and completed by Barros Laborão).[2][3]

Chapel

In the main chapel, there is a figure of the patron saint by the painter José Troni, with pictures of the Royal family in the foreground (including Maria I, John VI and Carlota Joaquina) completed by the English painter Thomas F. Hickey.[2][3] On the ceiling of the chapel, in an ovular mould, there is a painting of the Virgin attributed to Pedro Alexandrino de Carvalho (1730–810). Along the lateral walls are pulpits delimited by balusters, while on the left side the organ.[3] The lateral altars, with the exception of the second epistle, are marked by the acronym of Pedro Alexandrino.[3] On the roof, in the middle of a complex Baroque scene is a painting by Pedro Alexandrino representing the Assumption of Mary, encircled by a crown of cherubs and four doctors of the church: Saint Augustine, Saint Ambrose, Saint Gregory Magno and Saint Jerome, while the painter also complete a painting of the Transfiguration on the roof of the chapel.[3] The sacristy, with access on the left-side of the main altar, is covered in polychromatic azulejos, with a credence table made from Brazilwood.[3]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Isley (1853), p.197
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Oliveira, Catarina (16 October 2007). IGESPAR, ed. "Capela do Paço da Bemposta" (in Portuguese). Lisbon, Portugal. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 Vale, Teresa; Gomes, Carlos (2008) [2004]. Grilo, Júlio, ed. "Paço e capela da Bemposta" (in Portuguese). Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico. 
  4. ↑ Mauricio Dottori (2008), p.72
  5. ↑ The Military Academy was originally installed in the Palácio dos Condes de Murça (Palace of the Counts of Murça), along Rua de Santo António dos Capuchos.
Sources
  • Rev. Dr. Isley (1853). The Lisbon Guide, or an Historical and Descriptive View of the City of Lisbon and its Environs (2nd ed.). António Joaquim de Paula. 
  • Dottori, Mauricio (2008). The Church Music of Davide Perez and Niccolò Jommelli. Curitiba: DeArtes-UFPR. ISBN 978-85-98826-19-6. 
  • Abreu, João Manuel P. de A. (1943), Notícia Histórica da Capela da Bemposta (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal 
  • Almeida, Fernando de (1975), Monumentos e Edifícios Notáveis do Distrito de Lisboa (in Portuguese) 2, Lisbon, Portugal 
  • Araújo, Norberto de (1946), Inventário de Lisboa (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal 
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  • Moita, Luis (October 1953), "A Bemposta (O Paço da Rainha)", Olisipo (in Portuguese), Ano XVI (64) 
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  • Pedreirinho, José Manuel (1994), Dicionário de arquitectos activos em Portugal do Séc. I à actualidade (in Portuguese), Porto, Portugal: Edições Afrontamento 
  • Sena, Camilo (1922), A Escola Militar de Lisboa (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal 
  • Valença, Manuel (1990), A Arte Organística em Portugal (in Portuguese) 1, Braga, Portugal 
  • Viterbo, Sousa (1904), Diccionario Historico e Documental dos Architectos, Engenheiros e Construtores Portuguezes ou a serviço de Portugal (in Portuguese) 1, Lisbon, Portugal: Imprensa Nacional 
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