This town, located next to Lisbon, holds many castles and royal residences. It became a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1995 and the European Center of Romantic Architecture. Initially Moorish, Sintra evolved to embrace various different architectural inspirations like the Gothic, the Manueline, and the Romantic movements.
Overall, the most eye-catching feature of this city is the Pena Castle located on the top of a hill. The facade of the castle overlooking Sintra is astonishing. It is a blend of azulejo, bright yellow, vivid red, and electric blue. This castle groups 7 different architectural styles, each ceiling involves entirely different features, and each part of the castle has a different dominant architectural style.
The castle was originally a chapel built in the Middle Ages. In the 16 century King Manuel I of Portugal transformed the chapel into a small monastery. In 1755, an earthquake reduced the monastery into ruins but the chapel wasn’t damaged. The ruins remained untouched until 1838 when King Ferdinand II decided to acquire the Old monastery and its surrounding lands. His goal was to transform it into a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family.
Therefore, King Ferdinand II underwent the renovation of the Sintra Castle. He was an Austrian lord who married Queen Maria II of Portugal and ruled Portugal by her side but while he held the title of King he avoided politics, leaving his ministries the role of dealing with the daily running of the country. Ferdinand II wasn’t interested in politics, but he was passionate about art and pushed for a Renaissance period in Portugal, promoting artisans and thinkers. He contributed to Romanticism there, especially in Sintra, where his Pena castle renovation reflects an affinity for multiple architectural styles, including Gothic, Manueline, Moorish, and Renaissance. The palace also reflects the eclectic spirit of Romanticism, with bright colors and fantasy-inspired forms.
Ferdinand was a very peculiar King. He is remembered in Portugal for his cultural ambition and is referred to as the Artistic King. His unusual love story with Elise Hensler adds to his particular personality. Elise Hensler was a Swiss-born American soprano, who performed at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon in an opera. Ferdinand II was seduced by her performance, and their relationship soon deepened because they shared the same love for art, architecture, and botany.
However, his love affair with an opera singer was regarded by many as discrediting the Portuguese crown. To ignore those criticisms Ferdinand II and Elise fled from Lisbon to settle in Sintra. The Pena castle became their official residence until Ferdinand II's death. There they focused on botanics and built the huge park around the Pena castle together, also classified under UNESCO patrimony. After 9 years of having a relationship, Ferdinand II and Elise got married morganatically, meaning that the royal titles wouldn’t be passed over to Elise.
Delving into the Ferdinand II story, I can say that the Pena castle reflects Ferdinand II peculiarity through architecture that stands for its variety of shapes, colors, and materials.
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