Pena Palace | United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, 1854
By the mid 19th century, Europe was experiencing the wrath of the French Empire on home soil led by Napoléon Bonaparte. Both Portugal and Spain were invaded by the French and the Portuguese royalty fled to Brazil, a move that would lead to political instability and eventually civil war. At the same time, Europe was experiencing another burst of creativity; the period known as Romanticism led to a significant progression in areas such as writing, music and architecture. Pena Palace is one of the most interesting buildings from this period and an excellent example of Romantic architecture.
Left: Michaela Loheit on Flickr & Right: Naval S on Flickr
Perched on a hilltop overlooking the surrounding countryside, the site where Pena Palace sits has a long history. It was initially used as a chapel and was converted into a monastery that was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. King Ferdinand then purchased the property and between the years of 1842 and 1854 built a palace to be used by Portuguese royalty. Its exterior shows influence from other styles including Neo-Gothic, Neo-Islamic and Neo-Renaissance and is coloured in vibrant reds and yellows.
Excuse me! Are you on Pinterest?! Here are a couple of pins! Right: Naval S on Flickr
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This post is part of an expanded series taken from 37 Wonders of the World in Chronological Order. You can click the link to read more or navigate between individual photo posts beneath the gallery.
Left: Mark Lawson on Unsplash & Right: silvar.net on Flickr
Left: Ulli Paege from Pixabay & Right: Kent Wang on Flickr