In this article, you will get to know about...
São Bento Palace, details
Discover the details of the São Bento Palace, a neoclassical building constructed in 1598 by Baltazar Álvares, formerly a Benedictine monastery (São Bento da Saúde Monastery).
Main Facade of the São Bento Palace
The Main Facade of the São Bento Palace was designed by Miguel Ventura Terra (1866-1919) and remodeled by the architect José Marques da Silva (1869-1947). On the main facade of the São Bento Palace, the following stand out:
Main Atrium of the São Bento Palace
The main atrium of the São Bento Palace stands out for its lioz stone floor imitating marble and for its various busts, namely the bust of Luís Vaz de Camões by José Aurélio, the bust of Hintze Ribeiro (1849-1907) and the bust of António Cândido (1850-1922) by Maximiano Alves (1888-1954), the bust of Bernardino Machado (1851-1944) by António Duarte (1912-1998), the bust of António José de Almeida (1866-1929) by Joaquim Correia (1920-2013), the bust of Afonso Costa (1871-1937) by António Paiva (1926-1987), the bust of the President of the Constituent Assembly of 1975-1976, the bust of Henrique de Barros (1904-2000) by Lagoa Henriques (1923-2009). The busts are located on the sites of the former side chapels.
The main atrium was the site of the monastery’s former church. In the corridors leading to the Noble Staircase, five busts of important deputies stand out, namely the bust of Francisco Margiochi (1812-1879) by Anatole Camels (1822-1906), the bust of Anselmo Braamcamp Freire (1849-1921) by Costa Mota, the bust of Francisco Salgado Zenha (1923-1993) and the bust of Francisco Sá Carneiro (1934-1980) by Carla Gonçalves (1971-)
Senate Room of the São Bento Palace
The Senate Room was the former Chapter Room of the São Bento Monastery. The room has a semicircular floor plan in the shape of an amphitheater, and was designed by Jean-François Colson.
The main points of interest are:
- The skylight in the ceiling that provides natural light to the room
- Eight marble busts representing some of the most important parliamentarians in history, namely the bust of the Duke of Palmela by António Cerqueira, the bust of Dom Guilherme, the bust of the Duke of Terceira by Manuel Bordalo Pinheiro, the bust of the Count of Lavradio by Miguel Santos, the bust of the Duke of Loulé by Simões de Almeida, uncle, and the bust of Fontes Pereira de Melo by Simões de Almeida, nephew
- Table of the Presidency of the Assembly of the Republic with two bas-reliefs that are part of portraits of the Duke of Palmela and Dom Guilherme, the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, by Anatole Camels
- Portrait of King Dom Luís (1838-1889) by José Rodrigues (1828-1887)
Gallery of the Presidents of the São Bento Palace
Gallery of the Presidents highlighting the oil portraits. Portrait of the President of the Constituent Assembly Henrique de Barros (1904-2000), by Pedro Girão and portraits of the twelve former Presidents of the Assembly of the Republic, namely: portrait of Vasco da Gama Fernandes, portrait of Teófilo Carvalho dos Santos, by Pedro Girão, portrait of Leonardo Ribeiro de Almeida, by Fernando Alves de Sousa, portrait of Francisco Oliveira Dias, by Maria Antónia Machado, portrait of Manuel Tito de Morais, by Pinheiro de Santa Maria, portrait of Fernando Amaral, by Fernando Alves de Sousa, portrait of Victo Crespo, by Maluda, portrait of António Barbosa de Melo, by Ana Duarte de Almeida, portrait of António Almeida Santos, by António Macedo, portrait of João Bosco Mota Amaral, by João Cruz Rosa, portrait of Jaime Gama, by Isabel Garcia and the portrait of Maria da Assunção Esteves, by Isabel Guerra Peñamaria
Reception Room of the President of the Assembly of the Republic
Reception Room of the President of the Assembly of the Republic, highlighting:
- Portrait of King Dom Carlos I (1863-1908) by José Malhoa
- Arraiolos carpet embroidered especially for the room
Noble Hall of the São Bento Palace
The Noble Hall is currently used for official receptions; it was formerly the location of the upper choir of the São Bento Monastery church, having been built during the 1940s. The Noble Hall is designed by Pardal Monteiro and features the following points of interest:
-
Seven paintings from Adriano Sousa Lopes’s cabinet depicting figures and events from the Portuguese Discoveries, namely the delivery of the plan for the Discoveries by Prince Henry the Navigator to the captain of the Armada, the capture of Ceuta in 1415, Diogo Cão’s passage through the mouth of the Congo River, Bartolomeu Dias’s passage around the Cape of Good Hope, Pedro Álvares Cabral’s discovery of Brazil in 1500, the conquest of Malacca by Afonso de Albuquerque (1453-1515), and Vasco da Gama’s reception by the Zamorin’s emissaries.
Balcony: This is the only balcony in the São Bento Palace building and stands out due to the presence of twelve columns and ten pillars of the Order of the Holy Roman Empire. Corinth
Lost Steps Room of the São Bento Palace
The Lost Steps Room is where meetings take place between the media, members of parliament, and other members of the government. The Lost Steps Room belongs to Miguel Ventura Terra. The Hall of Lost Steps features the paintings representing Viriato, by João Vaz, the Évora-Monte Convention of 1834, and the six panels by Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, which depict figures from Portuguese history, namely:
King Dinis, João das Regras, and King João II
Febo Moniz, Father António Vieira, Dom Luiz de Meneses (Count of Ericeira), and João Pinto Ribeiro
Count of Castelo Melhor, Dom Luís da Cunha, Marquis of Pombal, and José Seabra da Silva
Manuel Fernandes Tomás, Manuel Borges Carneiro, and Joaquim António de Aguiar
Mouzinho da Silveira, Duke of Palmela, Duke of Saldanha, and José da Silva Carvalho
Session Room of the São Bento Palace
The Session Room was inaugurated in 1903 after the fire that occurred in 1895, as a reference to the Table of the President of the Assembly of the Republic. Highlights of the Session Room are:
- Full-body statue representing the Republic, by Anjos Teixeira
- Telescope representing the Constituent Courts of 1821, responsible for the Constitution of 1822, by the painter Veloso Salgado
- Ceiling paintings, by Alves Cardoso, representing Science, Arts and Industry; Fatherland, Peace and Fortune; Commerce and Agriculture
- Six plaster statues representing the Constitution, by Simões de Almeida, nephew, the Law, by Francisco Santos, Jurisprudence, by Costa Mota, Eloquence, by Júlio Vaz Júnior, Justice, by Costa Mota, nephew, and Diplomacy, by Maximiano Alves.
Acácio Lino Room of the São Bento Palace
The Acácio Lino Room is the current working room of a parliamentary group, named as such due to the presence of four paintings by Acácio de Magalhães Lino (1878-1956). The paintings represent important episodes in the History of Portugal, namely:
Battle of São Mamede
The Conspiracy of 1640
The Reconstruction of Lisbon by the Marquis of Pombal
Allegory to the Fatherland, the Arts, Industry, Agriculture and the History of Portugal
Lisbon Room of the São Bento Palace
The Lisbon Room is also called the Lino António Room, after the author of the paintings in the room. The paintings depict figures and events from the History of Portugal, namely:
The Conquest of Lisbon by Dom Afonso Henriques in 1147
King Dom Dinis (1261-1325)
Infante Dom Henrique and the Portuguese Discoveries
The Marquis of Pombal and his Works
In the Refectory of the Monks of the Palace of São Bento, the eighteen tile panels from 1770 stand out, representing episodes from the life of Saint Benedict.
Hall of Arches of the Palace of São Bento Bento
Sala dos Arcos is the current Parliamentary Historical Archive where it is possible to find documentation of the Portuguese Constitutional History
Inner Garden of the São Bento Palace
The inner garden of the São Bento Palace was designed by Miguel Ventura Terra and redesigned by António Lino in 1936 and 1937. The highlights of the inner garden are:
- Esculturas da autoria de Leopoldo de Almeida (1898-1975) representando as oito províncias de Portugal durante o Estado Novo, nomeadamente Trás-os-Montes, Minho, Beira Litoral, Beira Alta, Beira Baixa, Alentejo, Extremadura e Algarve, e as oito cidades onde se realizaram as Cortes: Guimarães, Braga, Porto, Lisboa, Leiria, Santarém, Évora e Almeirim
Escadaria do Palácio de São Bento
A Escadaria do Palácio de São Bento tem como pontos de interesse os Painéis, da autoria de Jaime Martins Barata (1899-1970). Os Painéis representam as Cortes de Leiria realizadas no século XIII, onde pela primeira vez estiveram presentes representantes do Povo, e representam alegorias à Indústria, à Arte, Ciência, Humanidades, Agricultura e Comércio do século XV. Os painéis foram inaugurados em 1944.
Sala Dona Maria II do Palácio de São Bento
A Sala Dona Maria II foi concebida para a realização de conferências. Atualmente é o local onde se realizam as reuniões de Conferências de Líderes dos Grupos Parlamentares da Assembleia da República. Os principais destaques Sala Dona Maria II são:
- Teto com figuras mitológicas que representam: Minerva, Mercúrio, Vénus e a Justiça
- Retrato do Duque de Palmela (1781-1850), retrato do Duque de Loulé (1804-1875) da autoria de António Félix da Costa (1887), retrato do Conde de Lavradio (1796-1870) e retrato de Dom Guilherme, Cardeal Patriarca de Lisboa (1793-1857)
- Retrato de Fontes Pereira de Melo (1819-1887), retrato de João Crisóstomo (1811-1895), da autoria de Veloso Salgado (1864-1945), retrato de Duque de Ávila e Bolama (1807-188) e retrato de José Rodrigues de Carvalho (1830-1908), da autoria de José Nunes Ribeiro Júnior
- Retrato da Rainha Dona Maria II (1819-1853), de autoria desconhecida.
