Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira
The Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira (Palace of the Marquesses of Fronteira), not far from Sete Rios bus station, was built in 1671 for Dom João de Mascarenhas (1633-1681) as a hunting lodge.
The area, now part of Lisbon, was outside the city limits in the countryside at the time of its construction.
The house and gardens are still occupied by descendants of the first Marquis of Fronteira, who was ennobled for his service during the War of Restoration against Spain (1640 to 1668).
History of the Palace
The oldest part of the palace is the chapel which predated the original construction and dates from the end of the 16th century.
It was renovated when the palace was built and is adorned with stones, shells, broken glass and porcelain pieces. The glass and porcelain including Ming pieces had been used to serve the King at the inauguration of the palace and by traditional could not be used again. A fountain in the garden also makes use of these discarded treasures.
On the chapel terrace there are tile niches decorated with figures embodying the arts and classical gods and goddesses.
The Sala das Batalhas (Room of the Battles) has tile panels depicting the War of Restoration including one of D. João de Mascarenhas in combat with a Spanish general.
The Biblioteca (Library) has over 3,000 volumes collected by the Mascarenhas, Almeida and Távora noble families.
The Sala de Jantar (Dining Room) is decorated with Dutch tiles.
The Sala de Juno (Sala Imperio) displays portraits of several members of the Portuguese nobility, painted by Domingos António de Sequeira (1768-1837) and other artists of the day.
The garden includes symmetrical trimmed hedges cut to represent the different seasons, fountains and ponds. The Galeria das Artes is a tile terrace with statues of female figures representing Poetry and the seven arts of the classical world.
The Galeria dos Reis has busts of all the Portuguese monarchs up to the 1800's minus the three kings of Spain who ruled Portugal from 1580 to 1640.
Access - Getting to the Palace
Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira
Largo São Domingos de Benfica 1
1500-554 Lisboa
Tel: 217 782 023
www: fronteira-alorna.pt
Take a taxi or bus #770 from Jardim Zoológico Station on the Blue Line (Linha Azul) of the Lisbon metro.
The palace is still occupied but there are morning tours of various rooms including the library and the garden. The garden is open Monday to Friday between 11 am and 5 pm (last entry at 4.30 pm).
Nearby
Other attractions within fairly easy reach of the palace include the Parque Florestal de Monsanto, one of Lisbon's largest green spaces and Lisbon Zoo back in Sete Rios.
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