south-west facade of Monserrate Palace, Sintra
Monserrate Palace is a neo-gothic Romanticist palace with Mughal-inspired details, located on a hill near Sintra in Portugal. Originally the site of a 16th century chapel, the current building is the culmination of successive rebuilding.
It was Gerard de Visme (an English merchant who held the concession for importing Brazilian teak) who built the first neo-gothic palace on the site of the old palace in 1790.
This was then taken on by William Beckford (English author, reputedly the richest commoner of his day, who left England after a sex scandal) who in 1793 undertook more building and began to lay out a landscape garden.
Finally Sir Francis Cook (English textile millionaire) acquired the estate in 1856 and remodelled the building to its current appearance, using the design skills of architect James Knowles Jr. Cook was made Visconde de Monserrate by King Luís of Portugal.
south-west facade of Monserrate Palace, Sintra
Monserrate Palace is a neo-gothic Romanticist palace with Mughal-inspired details, located on a hill near Sintra in Portugal. Originally the site of a 16th century chapel, the current building is the culmination of successive rebuilding.
It was Gerard de Visme (an English merchant who held the concession for importing Brazilian teak) who built the first neo-gothic palace on the site of the old palace in 1790.
This was then taken on by William Beckford (English author, reputedly the richest commoner of his day, who left England after a sex scandal) who in 1793 undertook more building and began to lay out a landscape garden.
Finally Sir Francis Cook (English textile millionaire) acquired the estate in 1856 and remodelled the building to its current appearance, using the design skills of architect James Knowles Jr. Cook was made Visconde de Monserrate by King Luís of Portugal.