Palacio B was constructed by Vasco César de Meneses between 1701 and 1734. In 1737 it belonged to D. José César de Meneses, principal of the Lisbon Cathedral. After an earthquake in 1755, it was purchased by the Patriarch of Lisbon, D. Francisco de Saldanha, as a summer residence. It was known thereafter, and for nearly a century, as Palácio dos Patriarcas. During the mid-19th century, the palace was bought by businessman Manuel António da Fonseca. Manuel, nicknamed Montecristo, altered and extended the building, demolishing a series of outbuildings to create the balcony that exists today. In 1880 a banker named Henri Burnay (who later became the 1st Count of Burnay) acquired the palace, and carried out major renovations to the interior. Several spaces were enlarged and decorated with works of art, porcelain and elegant furniture. After Henri Burnay's death in 1909, the palace came into the possession of his wife Maria Amélia de Carvalho and their nine children. After the death of the Countess of Burnay in 1924, the heirs decided to sell the valuable art collection at public auction. In 1936, the contents of the palace were finally auctioned, with several items being acquired by the State and sent to the National Museum of Ancient Art. In 1940, the palace was acquired by the Ministry of Colonies, who carried out more restoration work. Since 1974 the palace has been occupied by the Institute of Tropical Scientific Research, the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences, and the Technical University of Lisbon. It is unknown how long ago it was abandoned.
This is a well known spot famed for its epic grand staircase. The walls are decorated with a painting technique known as trompe-l'œil (French for 'deceive the eye'), which gives the optical illusion of three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. In this case it's made to look like intricate stone work with busts on either side, which looks amazing alongside the staircase. Unfortunately it was vandalised with graffiti a couple of years ago by some absolute cockwombles. I don't wish to give their shoddy work any exposure so I've used a bit of artistic license to remove the graffiti from a couple of my shots. I hope nobody minds. Aside from the staircase, this was actually a way more impressive building than I had expected, with stunning architecture throughout. We even came back a second time to see if we could find a way into the palace next door. I managed to find some old archive shots taken in 1933 so I've included a few of those in my report for comparison. Visited with @jones-y-gog & @Sids.
The stunning staircase, minus some childish scribbles
How it looked in 1933
Looking up
One of the connecting buildings contained a few small lecture theatres, and this large one.
Elsewhere in the palace was this theatre decorated with a frescoed ceiling. There was an annoying tag on the stage so I've removed it from my shot.
Next we managed to find a way into the palace next door. It was almost entirely stripped, except for this nice staircase, which wasn't too shabby at all 😍
Thanks for looking
This is a well known spot famed for its epic grand staircase. The walls are decorated with a painting technique known as trompe-l'œil (French for 'deceive the eye'), which gives the optical illusion of three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. In this case it's made to look like intricate stone work with busts on either side, which looks amazing alongside the staircase. Unfortunately it was vandalised with graffiti a couple of years ago by some absolute cockwombles. I don't wish to give their shoddy work any exposure so I've used a bit of artistic license to remove the graffiti from a couple of my shots. I hope nobody minds. Aside from the staircase, this was actually a way more impressive building than I had expected, with stunning architecture throughout. We even came back a second time to see if we could find a way into the palace next door. I managed to find some old archive shots taken in 1933 so I've included a few of those in my report for comparison. Visited with @jones-y-gog & @Sids.
The stunning staircase, minus some childish scribbles
How it looked in 1933
Looking up
One of the connecting buildings contained a few small lecture theatres, and this large one.
Elsewhere in the palace was this theatre decorated with a frescoed ceiling. There was an annoying tag on the stage so I've removed it from my shot.
Next we managed to find a way into the palace next door. It was almost entirely stripped, except for this nice staircase, which wasn't too shabby at all 😍
Thanks for looking
