Paço de São Miguel, Évora

GPS 38.572957211838414, -7.905642039815585

The Paço de São Miguel, or Paço de São Miguel da Freiria, Palácio do Pátio de São Miguel, Palácio dos Condes de Basto or Palace of the former Counts of Basto, as it is also called, is a historic palace located in the Pátio de São Miguel, in the parish of Sé and São Pedro, in Évora, a manor residence of first importance since the Arab era, classified as a National Monument since 1922.

The foundation of the Palace of São Miguel dates back to Muslim times, integrating the fortress of Évora, which corresponded to the Roman and medieval fence. The connection of this palace to the history of Évora was such that Túlio Espanca classifies it as "the most traditional palatial building" in the city.

History

After the conquest of the city by Christian forces, the building was handed over to the Order of Avis, having later been incorporated into the crown's assets and became the royal palace of D. Fernando during his stay in the city, which benefited him with various works. It was almost destroyed following the dynastic crisis of 1383–1385, because the captain-general of Évora was a supporter of D. Leonor Teles. After the consolidation of power by D. João I, the building was granted to D. Nuno Álvares Pereira, who has lived there for around 25 years.

Later, D. Afonso V donates it to the captain-general D. Diogo de Castro, from whom D. Fernando de Castro, 1st count of Basto, in turn father of Diogo de Castro, viceroy of Portugal during the reign of Philip III. D. João II, D. Manuel, D. João III and D. Sebastião spent the night there, this one during the period in which he studied at the University of Évora.

Due to his connection to the Castilian crown and his retreat to Spain, D. João IV expropriated the palace of the Counts of Basto, having occasional residence there, as well as later D. João V, Frei Domingos de Gusmão and D. Catarina de Bragança.

It was later purchased by the farmer Vicente Rodrigues Ruivo, and, in 1958, it was acquired by Engineer Eugénio de Almeida, Count of Vilalva, who rehabilitated the palace, which was very dilapidated, and established the headquarters of the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation there.

Description

In architectural terms, the palace is made up of a series of articulated volumes of a monumental nature, with a succession of courtyards and smaller outbuildings. The main body, facing the Pátio de São Miguel, has an elegant Renaissance loggia over a Gothic arcade, with a ribbed vault, with a 16th century graffiti in a band at the top.

Throughout the complex there are traces of Gothic structures, although the 16th century stonework, the twin windows with a horseshoe arch and a brick structure, the Renaissance galleries and colonnades, the fountain and frescoed house in the garden, the turrets and cylindrical, with a clear Italian influence on the whole.

The interior of the buildings is of equal value and interest: three rooms on the ground floor are covered by vaults painted in fresco by the master Francisco de Campos, who signed and dated one of them with "F.O. de C.A.P.V.S., 1578". It is a set of mythological inspiration and the Italian taste of the time, with individual figures and a profusion of flowers and fruits, ornamental paintings, triumphal allegories and compositions inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses, according to Flemish mannerist prints and, in one case, celebrating the conquest of Tunis, in 1535, where the 2nd Count of Basto took part.

These paintings constitute one of the most important decorative sets in the country, rare not only for the quality of their execution, but also for the grandeur of the set, the profane theme only possible in a private and visibly erudite commission, and the sensuality and paganism of some motifs.