Palácio de Estói

About

Estoi Palace (Portuguese: Palácio de Estoi), also known as Casa de Estói, Quinta de Estói, and Quinta do Carvalhal, and originally as Jardim de Estoy, is a historic building located near the town of Estói, in the municipality of Faro, in the Algarve region of Portugal. Part of the Estoi Palace complex is occupied by a hotel. It is considered one of the Algarve's main monuments due to its architectural and decorative richness, combining elements of Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Romantic styles. It has been classified as a Property of Public Interest. The Estoi Palace complex is large in size and consists of two main components: an old manor house and the gardens. The manor house consists of several sections, roughly forming a U-shaped structure, with the Jardim do Carrascal at the center. It is primarily in the Italian Baroque style, with various elements in other styles. This variety of styles and forms does not always result in a harmonious combination, creating inconsistencies between the elements and resulting in arrangements that could almost be considered kitsch. Inside, there are several richly ornamented and furnished rooms, decorated in the French style of the 18th century...

The Palace of Estói is located roughly in the northern area of the village of the same name and is part of its urban fabric. It is accessed via the streets of Horta Nova and São José, with the latter being the main entrance to the palace. The archaeological site of the Roman ruins of Milreu is located near the palace. The village of Estói is situated in a rural setting, in the transition between the Barrocal and the coastal strip of the Algarve. It is about 10 km from the county capital, the city of Faro.

The palace and its gardens are known for their eclectic architecture and are considered by many authors to be the most significant example of romantic architecture in the Algarve and one of the most important in the country. The property also stands out for its rich decoration, large dimensions, and the complex integration of the gardens with spaces dedicated to agricultural production. It is regarded as one of the main monuments of Estói, alongside the Roman ruins of Milreu, making the village one of the best-known in the Algarve region.

The palace's importance stems in part from its unique monumentality in the region, where palatial heritage is uncommon due to the poor economic conditions over the past few centuries, social instability, and natural disasters. In an article published in the periodical Povo Algarvio in 1963, journalist Luciano Marcos emphasized how the palace and its gardens were a recreation of the wealthy residences of the past: “In the charming palace of Estoi one could shoot a film without spending astronomical amounts of money, as large companies do when they want to create films depicting the opulent life of bygone times. It was exactly this kind of life that I saw around me when I looked at that terrace with a beautiful lake in the middle, upon which stood a valiant work in marble, a masterpiece of the sinzel, like all the busts and human figures this palace contains.”

The palace and its gardens have been classified as a Property of Public Interest and are part of the protection zone of the Old Urban Center of Estói [ pt ].

The Estoi Palace is an example of an old manor house, primarily used during the summer months. It can be classified as a recreational estate due to its composition, which includes the palatial building itself and various open spaces, including extensive gardens. The concept of a recreational estate emerged in the 18th century in the Algarve to describe a property that combined both economic and leisure aspects. In the case of Estoi Palace, the productive areas, such as the citrus groves, were integrated with the garden spaces, which feature various recreational structures and amenities, such as fresco houses, tea pavilions, a bandstand, and several artificial lakes.

The palace is not the only example of a pleasure farm in the municipality of Faro, as other properties can be classified as such, including the Horta dos Macacos [ pt ] and the former Quinta da Família Bívar Cumano [ pt ]. The property is organized in a roughly north–south direction, with the main façade facing north, so that the palace building and the gardens are oriented to the south.

Although the palace complex is a distinct element of Estoi's urban fabric due to its architecture and the structure of its various spaces, it still maintains a connection to the village through the road network, which influenced its organization. This is particularly evident in a road that runs through the property, from the Ossónoba Garden in Estoi, providing access to various agricultural plots, and leading to the division of the gardens into two distinct areas. On the other hand, the palace and its grounds also limited the urban expansion of Estoi, especially to the north.

The palace is a single-story, horizontal building, with the central section higher and protruding from the rest of the façade. The various volumes of the palace are organized in a roughly U-shape, with a square green space in the center, the Jardim do Carrascal, which was originally considered the main entrance to the palace. The exterior façade is relatively sober, organized symmetrically with decorative elements in mortar designed to imitate limestone. The façade facing the gardens is divided into three sections by Ionic pilasters, each of which is divided by a semicircular balcony opening, topped by an oculus with a counter-curved pediment. The building, which forms the upper part of the palace complex, was constructed on an artificial platform to dominate the gardens and the production area, in accordance with 18th-century Enlightenment principles. This influence is also evident in the logical organization of the palace's volumes, with the noble areas in the center, flanked by side wings and the chapel. This arrangement was also influenced by the natural slope of the land on the site of the building.

The building features a mix of styles, with a primary influence from the Italian Baroque, along with elements of Neoclassical, Neo-Rococo, and Art Nouveau. Vilhena de Mesquita described the palace in 1988 as having twenty-eight rooms, which are of particular interest due to their size and the richness of their furnishings and decoration. Notable rooms include the Great Hall, the Dining Room, and the Visitors' Room, the latter also known as the Sala Azul. The interior decoration follows the French style of the 18th century, with the Great Hall, for example, designed in the Louis XV style. This room was decorated with ceiling paintings and windows by Adolfo Greno, along with small canvases by the artist José Maria Pereira Júnior [ pt ] (Pereira Cão). The gilded stucco painting was created by Manuel da Costa. The furniture was supplied by Manuel Marino's company and features lacquerwork by the artist Domingos Costa. Both Adolfo Greno and Domingos Costa also contributed to the interior decoration of the Main Church of Estoi [ pt ].

The Renaissance-style Dining Room also stands out for its ceiling paintings, executed by José Maria Pereira Júnior, and its walnut furniture, with Italian-style carvings. Next is the Visiting Room, also decorated in the Louis XV style, with a ceiling painted by Domingos Costa and furniture supplied by Manuel Marino's company. Other notable features of the palace include two rooms with ceilings painted by the artist Maria Barreta from Naples, and the vestibule that leads to the Jardim do Carrascal. The palace's rooms are square and rectangular in shape and can be accessed through long, narrow corridors, although most rooms have connecting doors. Another prominent artist who worked on the palace was Pereira Cão, who contributed as a tile maker and decorative painter.

On the western side of the palace building is the chapel, which also borders the Jardim do Carrascal. It has a longitudinal plan, with a single nave, and an imposing bell tower. The main façade is single-paned, with a prominent basement, and is topped by a triangular pediment. The interior of the chapel also follows a Louis XV aesthetic, with walls lined with tiles and a ceiling painted with scenes of the Ascension of Christ by the artist Francisco Luís Alves. The chapel was dedicated to the Holy Family and originally featured a painting with this theme on the high altar, painted in 1755 by Santos Ferreira, from the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid. However, the painting was stolen around 1988. Also of interest are the two side altars and two 17th-century paintings, one of which is attributed to Bento Coelho da Silveira [ pt ]. Other notable features of the palace include a tower for accessing the roofs, a water tank, and two fresco houses.

Attached to the west side of the palace is the volume of the hostel, designed to follow the topographical layout of the gardens, with three levels of terraces divided by two supporting walls. The upper and middle terraces correspond to the roofs of the rooms. These terraces were covered by garden areas to reduce the visual impact of the new volumes from the palace and its gardens, with designs by landscape architect João Ceregeiro. This section is dedicated solely to the accommodation units, which, according to the original plan, numbered 63. An additional volume was built for the spa and outdoor swimming pool. The palace itself houses the common areas of the hostel, such as the lounges, restaurant, and reception. It also includes an exhibition area with a museological section on the historical evolution of the region. The palace's former kitchens were converted into the restaurant Visconde, and several original elements of the space were preserved, such as the telephone system, stove, chimney, and sinks.

While the palace building was constructed in a hilly area, the part of the estate corresponding to the gardens and production areas was placed in flatter spaces more suited to agricultural practices. This area is spread over three levels, connected by double staircases with opposing flights. The gardens are decorated with busts, statues, tile panels, and other elements, including a crib from the 18th-century Portuguese school. The dominant style of the gardens is Baroque, while the statues and mural decorations are more aligned with 19th-century standards. This three-level configuration was designed to better utilize water resources, which are channeled through small aqueducts to a waterfall and then used to supply the agricultural areas and stables.

Vilhena Mesquita describes the access road to the palace as an "interesting avenue, along which we come across some works from the palette of Domingos António da Silva Meira, interspersed with the masonry of the brothers José and Joaquim Aleixo and the stonework of master José Lopes and José Maria Paulino Fernandes, which support the ironwork of locksmith Joaquim José da Fonseca." However, the organization of the decorative elements in the gardens was criticized by Oliva Guerra [ pt ] in the magazine Alma Nova [ pt ] in 1926: “This stately palace, where the well-kept gardens are at odds with the profusion and bad taste in the distribution of the sculptures, lined up in niches, on plinths, and on the cymatia, without order, without connection, without selection criteria, randomly mixing Schiller with Fernão de Magalhães, Danton with São Francisco, Milton with Guilherme II, in a sort of magazine of the centuries where coherence and common sense gave way to the most nonsensical confusion of races, eras, and conditions imaginable."

The palace is accessed from the gardens through a monumental-looking gateway, followed by a central thoroughfare that runs through the various levels of the gardens and agricultural production areas. This corridor is lined with trees of exotic species and decorated with busts of illustrious figures from Portugal's history, such as António Feliciano de Castilho, Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage, Almeida Garrett, and the Marquis of Pombal. Also noteworthy are two statues originally placed to support lighting equipment, which were made in the workshop of Ferdinand Fabri et Figlio in Florence.

Next is the first landing, with a door topped by the Carvalhal family crest, which leads to the Sala da Cascata, designed as a cold greenhouse. Inside, there is a sculpture known as the Three Graces, carved at the Androny Gallery in Pisa and based on a sculpture by Antonio Canova, also called The Three Graces. This piece attempts to emulate the Renaissance models, such as The Birth of Venus. The walls are decorated with mosaics created in Genoa by the artist Marches Andrea.

The upper floor is marked by a lake surrounded by a balustrade, with a Carrara marble sculpture at its center, known as the Fonte de Ossónoba, featuring statues of mermaids from which water flows. The wall supporting the third floor, on the other side of the lake, is divided by three doors topped by round arches, giving access to a pavilion where a nativity scene by the artist José Pedro da Cruz Leiria is displayed. Also notable in this area is the decoration of the corners where the staircases begin, with exquisite panels of polychrome tiles, topped by bas-reliefs depicting the phases of dusk and dawn.

The third and final level is located next to the main volume of the palace, which is accessed by stairs, and can be considered the formal garden. It features two belvederes, also known as tea rooms, located in the corners facing the second floor. These belvederes are adorned with various bucolic paintings by Francisco Sousa Alves, especially the ceiling drawings simulating landscapes of Switzerland. Also of special interest are the blue and white tile panels by José Maria Pereira Júnior and the various busts of notable political and artistic figures, such as Luís Vaz de Camões, John Milton, Otto von Bismarck, and Helmuth von Moltke, as well as figures from classical mythology, including Jupiter, Venus, and Diana. On the wall bordering the palace are two Carrara marble sculptures, created by Louis Samain in 1800, depicting Piedmontese shepherds, which stand out for their realism and artistic beauty.

On the east side of this level is a structure reminiscent of the Roman Ruins of Milreu. On the opposite side of the building is another green space, the Jardim do Carrascal, which was the original entrance to the palace and was decorated with several statues that have since been removed. Another gateway to the gardens is located near Largo da Igreja. The complex of gardens and production areas also includes some old support structures, including a stable and an agricultural warehouse.