A not quite finished palace full of 19th century splendor west of the city center of Lisbon.
The National Palace of Ajuda is located in the western part of Lisbon, Portugal. The palace was constructed on the site of a temporary wooden palace built for the royal family after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Construction began on Ajuda in 1796 in a lovely neoclassical style.
However, Ajuda was never finished, only about a half was constructed. Construction started and stopped multiple times, either because of funds, invasion, civil unrest, or the abolition of the monarchy. It’s a long complicated story and here’s a short version.
Construction was first halted by the invasion of Napoleon’s troops in 1807. The Portuguese royal family fled and did not return to Portugal until 1821. There was civil unrest in the 1830s. Not until the reign of Luis I (ruled 1861-1889), was the palace really used except for ceremonial things. Luis I’s wife, Maria Pia of Savoy, went on a redecorating spree after moving in. Most of the palace’s current appearance was from her tenure.
There was really bad weather that day so I didn’t get a photo of the exterior. Here’s one on Wikipedia. Yes, they put a parking lot right in front of the main entrance to the palace.
It had a very lovely carriage entrance. The weather was so gross that it was even a little foggy in here. I usually love fog but it was pelting rain.
Can’t be a proper royal palace without some gilding.
Sala do Despacho (Audience Room). I love the heavy late 19th century furnishings and all, but they don’t quite go with the pastel ceiling. This room was used for official king business and parties.
The room is ringed by tapestries featuring Alexander the Great.
Sala de Música (Music Room). This room looks very cozy. It even has some plush sofas.
Quarto do Rei D. Luís (King Luís’s Room). It looks like a pretty subdued room until you look at the ceiling.
The ceilings in this palace often don’t go with the rest of the decor.
The bed also looks simple until you get a good look at it.
Sala Azul (Blue Room). This room a family living room for the family to spend time together out of the public eye. The blue walls were recently restored to their correct color. For some time it was gold patterned.
Jardim de Inverno (Winter Garden). The walls are lined with alabaster given to the royal family from the Viceroy of Egypt. The family would eat dinners on a table that went around the fountain.
Sala Cor-de-Rosa (Pink Room) was used to display the queen’s porcelain collection. It’s a bit much though.
Even the furniture is covered with porcelain.
The ceiling is really pretty though.
Sala Verde (Green Room). This room was used by the queen to conduct official duties or receive visitors. Weirdly, Maria Pia gave birth to Prince Carlos in this room.
There was no explanation for this.
Quarto da Rainha (Queen’s Bedroom). It was decorated in the Napoleonic (Napoleon III) in 1861 for Maria Pia before her wedding.
A very impressive bed imported from France.
This is in fact a polar bear rug on the floor. How do you not trip on the head?
The Queen’s Bathroom. This part served as more a changing room, with the bathroom being a small room off to the side. The palace got hot running water in the 1880s. This room may have been used for bathing before that.
The little bathroom where you would find fixtures imported from England, such as a sink, bathtub, toilet, etc.
The fanciest sewing machine I have ever seen.
Fancy staircase.
A Casa de Jantar da Rainha (Queen’s Dining Room). This room served as the private dining room of the royal family.
It actually has a matching ceiling.
Through this fancy doorway is the Sala de Bilhar (Billiard Room).
While mostly used by the king and his male guests, Maria Pia was known to play once in a while with the king or her piano teacher.
The brightest room in the palace so far is the kitchen.
A palace must have a grand staircase or it wouldn’t be a palace.
Sala Chinesa (Chinese Room) and its trippy ceiling.
Sala de Trabalho do Rei (King’s Office) which is extra gilded. This room is a lot on the eyes.
In the last year of his life, on the advice of a doctor, Luis moved his private apartments from the ground floor to the second. This bedroom was much simpler than the one he had downstairs.
Sala do Retrato da Rainha (Queen’s Portrait Room), which features a portrait of Maria Pia at 33 years old.
Sala do Corpo Diplomático (Diplomatic Corp’s Room). This is where visiting ambassadors and their staff would wait until they were to be presented in the throne room next door.
Sala do Trono (Throne Room), the grandest room in the palace.
Sala da Ceia (Supper Room), a grand banqueting hall. It’s still used by the President of Portugal for state events and can sit 180 people.
Sala de D. João VI (King John VI’s Hall) was used as the formal ballroom. The paintings day from around 1825 and depicts João VI being sworn in after the restoration of independence from Spain in 1640.
It’s a lot.
Sala dos Archeiros (Archer’s Hall), the last room for guests of the king and queen and for tourists today. The stairs to leave are right outside this room.
I’m guessing this room was never remodeled or decorated by Maria Pia because the ceiling actually matches the rest of the room.
The Palace of Ajuda is easy to reach from Central Lisbon. It’s not far of a walk to get the Belem, which is an influencer hot spot these days. I highly recommend Ajuda, but if you had to pick Ajuda or Queluz (last post), go with Queluz. Ajuda while gorgeous, is fairly typical of the time period. The Royal Treasure Museum is also in a modern (and quite ugly) section of the palace.
Tune in for my next update where I head to another influencer hotspot, Sintra!
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