Palacio Belmonte
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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Palácio Belmonte is a palace in Lisbon. It was built in 1449 by Brás Afonso Correia, a worker of King D. Manuel's Council and Comptroller of Lisbon, over Roman and Moorish ruins, around the ancient Alcáçova and Moorish walls. Riu de Figueiredo turned it into a manor house by acquiring and transforming land, old houses, a yard, and a stall. At this time, the complex included the walls, a door called D. Fradique, three towers, a turret, and two towers (both dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries).
In 1503, after discovering Brazil, Pedro Álvares Cabral built the first part of the present palace. The palácio's neighborhood and the primitive nucleus of Lisbon, Almafa, was the stage for major national events: Vasco da Gama was received there after the triumphant return from India; before, Gil Vicente presented his first play, and Fernão Lopes, famous Portuguese historian, also wrote his famous chronicles. In 1640, the year of restoration, the building was expanded again by attaching its terrace and five fronts in classical style. Between 1720 and 1730, two great masters of Portuguese tiles, Manuel Santos and Valentim de Almeida, contributed a unique collection of 59 panels. The panels contained more than 30,000 tiles, depicting episodes of Christianity and scenes from the Portuguese court of that time. On the main door, there are the weapons of Figueiredo, with 5 fig leaves that accompany the words Pro Deo Pro Patria PN AM.
The palácio's collection of tiles, peculiar eighteenth-century fireplace, and its garden with a stunning view over Alfama, São Vicente de Fora, and the Tagus river, earned Belmonte recognition as a National Heritage site.
Today, it has been transformed into a luxury hotel, comprising 10 suites. Each suite is named for a major figure of Portuguese history: Fernão Magalhães, Egas Moniz, Fernão Mendes Pinto, Gil Vicente, Bartolomeu de Gusmão, among others.
Frederic Coustouls purchased and restored the palácio in 1994. German director Wim Wenders chose the Palace to shoot his film Lisbon Story. Marcello Mastroianni also used the Palace, for the film Sostiene Pereira.
