The National Palace, Sintra / José Custódio Vieira da Silva.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Silva, José Custódio Vieira da.

Language:

English

Portuguese

Subjects (All):

Palácio Nacional da Pena (Portugal).

Physical Description:

128 pages : color illustrations ; 28 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Scala ; Lisboa : Ministério da Cultura : Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico, 2002.

Language Note:

Translated from the Portuguese.

Summary:

The National Palace, with its distinctive beehive-shaped kitchen chimneys, dominates the center of the picturesque town of Sintra. The origins of the palace go back to 1281, but is was during the reign of Manuel I (1495-1521), who oversaw Portugal's great maritime expansion, that the palace became the focus of political life in Portugal and a symbol of royal power.

Today, the palace is one of Portugal's top visitor attractions, and the monument has been given a new lease on life through a recently completed five year program of restoration, undertaken by IPPAR (Instituto Portugues do Patrimonio Artquitectonico) and the Portuguese Ministry of Culture.

Jose Custudio's lively and accessible text brings to life the fascinating history of the palace with stories of the key figures associated with the construction, the intended role of the building and its past occupants. The book also incorporates an illustrated tour of the principal rooms, highlighting principal components of the palace's architecture and decoration.

With its use of specially commissioned color photographs, plans and original archival material, this book is a fitting celebration of a new chapter in the history of the National Palace.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page 126) and index.

ISBN:

185759181X

OCLC:

47869577