Episcopal Palace of Porto
Encyclopedia
The Episcopal Palace of Porto is the former residence of the bishops of Porto
, in Portugal
. The palace is located on a high elevation, near Oporto Cathedral
, and dominates the skyline of the city. It is part of the historical centre of Porto, designated World Heritage Site
by UNESCO
.
The palace is an important example of late baroque
and rococo
civil architecture in the city.
-style windows that exist inside the present building. In 1387, this mediaeval palace witnessed the marriage of John I of Portugal
and Philippa of Lancaster
.
During the 16th and 17th centuries the palace was greatly enlarged, and an old drawing shows it to be composed of a series of buildings with towers, as was typical for the architecture of Portuguese manor house
s of the period. The present palace, however, is the result of a radical rebuilding campaign carried out in the 18th century, which turned it into a baroque
work.
It is believed that the project for the Bishop's Palace was drawn in 1734 by the Italian
Nicolau Nasoni
, an architect with an extense work in Porto and surroundings. Building work started in 1737, under the direction of architect Miguel Francisco da Silva, and proceeded slowly. Due to financial constraints, the original project could never be completed and had to be reduced in scale. The works were only finished in the last decades of the 18th century, under the rule of Bishop Rafael de Mendonça, whose coat-of-arms is located on the main portal and the inner monumental staircase of the palace.
The building was used as residence for the bishops of the city until the 19th century. During the Siege of Porto
of 1832, the bishop fled the city and the palace was used by Peter IV's troops as stronghold in the battle against Miguel I. Much later, between 1916 and 1956, when the bishops no longer inhabited the palace, the palace served as seat of the Municipality of Porto.
. The frames of the higher row of windows come in different rococo
frames. The main portal has a balcony topped by the coat-of-arms of Bishop Rafael de Mendonça, who saw the completion of the building.
Upon entering the palace, the visitor goes through a long vestible that leads to the stairway
, which is the highlight of the interior. The monumental stairway, attributed to Nasoni, is composed of a first flight of steps followed by a U-shaped stair. The stairway leads to a baroque portal again with the coat-of-arms of Bishop Mendonça. The whole room is harmoniously decorated with wall paintings and stucco
executed between the 18th and the 19th centuries in neoclassical
style. In the same century a glass dome
was added that provides abundant light to the interior. Other rooms of the palace have less artistic relevance.
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. The palace is located on a high elevation, near Oporto Cathedral
Oporto Cathedral
The Porto Cathedral , located in the historical centre of the city of Porto, Portugal, is one of the city's oldest monuments and one of the most important Romanesque monuments in Portugal...
, and dominates the skyline of the city. It is part of the historical centre of Porto, designated World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
.
The palace is an important example of late baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
and rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
civil architecture in the city.
History
The original Episcopal Palace of Porto was built in the 12th or 13th century, as attested by some architectural vestiges like romanesqueRomanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
-style windows that exist inside the present building. In 1387, this mediaeval palace witnessed the marriage of John I of Portugal
John I of Portugal
John I KG , called the Good or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal the Bastard, was the tenth King of Portugal and the Algarve and the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta...
and Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster, LG was a Queen consort of Portugal. Born into the royal family of England, her marriage with King John I secured the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance and produced several famous children who became known as the "Illustrious Generation" in Portugal...
.
During the 16th and 17th centuries the palace was greatly enlarged, and an old drawing shows it to be composed of a series of buildings with towers, as was typical for the architecture of Portuguese manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
s of the period. The present palace, however, is the result of a radical rebuilding campaign carried out in the 18th century, which turned it into a baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
work.
It is believed that the project for the Bishop's Palace was drawn in 1734 by the Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
Nicolau Nasoni
Nicolau Nasoni
Nicolau Nasoni was an Italian artist and architect but mostly active in Portugal....
, an architect with an extense work in Porto and surroundings. Building work started in 1737, under the direction of architect Miguel Francisco da Silva, and proceeded slowly. Due to financial constraints, the original project could never be completed and had to be reduced in scale. The works were only finished in the last decades of the 18th century, under the rule of Bishop Rafael de Mendonça, whose coat-of-arms is located on the main portal and the inner monumental staircase of the palace.
The building was used as residence for the bishops of the city until the 19th century. During the Siege of Porto
Siege of Porto
The Siege of Porto is considered the period, which lasted over a year, between July 1832 and August 1833, in which the troops of Dom Pedro have been besieged by royalist forces of Dom Miguel....
of 1832, the bishop fled the city and the palace was used by Peter IV's troops as stronghold in the battle against Miguel I. Much later, between 1916 and 1956, when the bishops no longer inhabited the palace, the palace served as seat of the Municipality of Porto.
Description
The Episcopal Palace is of rectangular shape with a courtyard in the middle. The main façade is painted white with three rows of windows and a central portal in dark graniteGranite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. The frames of the higher row of windows come in different rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
frames. The main portal has a balcony topped by the coat-of-arms of Bishop Rafael de Mendonça, who saw the completion of the building.
Upon entering the palace, the visitor goes through a long vestible that leads to the stairway
Stairway
Stairway, staircase, stairwell, flight of stairs, or simply stairs are names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps...
, which is the highlight of the interior. The monumental stairway, attributed to Nasoni, is composed of a first flight of steps followed by a U-shaped stair. The stairway leads to a baroque portal again with the coat-of-arms of Bishop Mendonça. The whole room is harmoniously decorated with wall paintings and stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
executed between the 18th and the 19th centuries in neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
style. In the same century a glass dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
was added that provides abundant light to the interior. Other rooms of the palace have less artistic relevance.