Sintra National Palace

The chapel

The Royal Chapel is the oldest part of the palace that survives

Nothing built during Moorish rule or during the reign of the first Portuguese kings survives. The earliest surviving part is the Royal Chapel, possibly built in the early 14th century. It has a tiled floor, painted walls and a wooden ceiling with geometric Moorish latticework.

John I

Much of the palace dates from a building campaign begun around 1415

Most buildings around the central courtyard, the Ala Joanina, come from the campaign of John I, which began around 1415. The façade has entrance arches and mullioned windows in Manueline and Moorish styles, called biforas.

Two rooms

A room of swans and a room of magpies carry two small stories

The Swan Room has swans painted on its ceiling, and their number equals the bride's age, 30. The Magpie Room relates to King John I, caught kissing a lady-in-waiting by his queen Philippa of Lancaster. He had the room decorated with as many magpies as there were women at court.

30painted swans, equal to the bride's age

Coats of arms

A domed ceiling carries 72 coats of arms, and one was removed

Between 1497 and 1530 Manuel I added Manuel's Wing and the Coats-of-Arms Room, with a wooden coffered domed ceiling decorated with 72 coats-of-arms. The coat-of-arms of the Távora family was removed after their conspiracy against King Joseph I.

72coats of arms on the domed ceiling

A sad story

Afonso VI was deposed in 1676 and kept inside the palace

A sad story is tied to the palace. Afonso VI was deposed by his brother Peter II and forced to live without leaving the residence from 1676 until 1683. The palace was later damaged by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which brought down the tower over the Arab Room.