Belém Palace

About

The Belém Palace, officially the National Palace of Belém, is the current official residence of the president of Portugal, the head of state of Portugal. Located in the Belém freguesia of Lisbon, the palace's main façade faces the Afonso de Albuquerque Square, facing the Tagus River. A former residence of the Portuguese royal family, the Belém Palace complex is made up of various buildings, wings, courtyards, and gardens, built variously from the 18th to 21st centuries.

The site was originally part of the Outeiro das Vinhas, a property that fronted the beach of the Tagus River. D. Manuel of Portugal, a diplomat and poet who was the son of the 1st Count of Vimioso, acquired the land in 1559, naming it Quinta de Belém and constructing a building with three salons and two atria. By the mid-17th century the property was linked to a scion of the Royal Court, then transferred to the possession of the Counts of Aveiras and occupied by a convent. The land was later acquired by King John V, who ordered its reconstruction in 1726. It encompassed two parcels, the Quinta de Baixo and Quinta do Meio, which the monarch purchased from João da Silva Telo, 3rd Count of Aveiros for 200...