#AHaLoInEurope: Sintra – A Step Back in Time

 

A Happy Solo in Sintra, Portugal

 

The drive through the Portuguese Riviera from Cascais to Sintra took us just a few minutes. But we travelled back in time by several centuries when we set foot on this picturesque town that Lord Byron described as “glorious Eden” in his poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”.

 

Like Lord Byron, my eyes were first drawn to the mountain of Sintra, to the romantic ramparts of a castle at its peak and the fairy tale-like village nestled at its feet.

 

                               Serra de Sintra

“And Cintra’s mountain greets them on their way” – Lord Byron

The old world charm of Vila de Sintra immediately captivated me. As we crossed the street of the old town, I got a glimpse of its 19^th century Romanticist architecture that earned for its Cultural Landscape a UNESCO World Heritage Site distinction.

Pastel-painted buildings of Vila de Sintra framed by

the arcade of Sintra National Palace

Palácio Nacional de Sintra

Our first stop was the Sintra National Palace. The exterior was not as grandiose as one would expect a palace to be. But I had read up on it and was excited to see the inside of the best-preserved medieval royal residence in Portugal. The royals have resided here continuously from about the 15^th to the late 19^th century.

 

I’ve always been interested in ancient history and a tour of the Sintra National Palace fascinated me. Walk with me through its historic halls.

 

In my previous blog, I mentioned the azulejos, the tiles that Lisbon and apparently the rest of Portugal adorn many of their buildings with. Azulejaria, the art of ceramic tilework, has transformed Portuguese buildings into stunning creations. At the Sintra National Palace, many rooms were decorated with azulejos. There was even a display of various tiles which I assumed were the ones used in the buildings. The palace is reputed to have one of the most important collections of Baroque tiles in Portugal and in the world.

 

It's interesting to know that there are tiles exclusively made for the palace. The design on the azulejos pictured below in the Sala Manuelina (Manueline Room) is the armillary sphere of King Manuel I which was  commissioned by the king himself.

 

The Manueline Room was the starting point of our palace tour. It served as the Great Hall in the time of Manuel I. Its glimmering chandelier that bade us welcome was a sight to behold.

The largest room in the palace where official banquets are still held especially for visiting dignitaries is the Sala dos Cisnes (Swan Room). This regal room is aptly named after the stately swans that adorn its ceiling.

 

The Sala das Pegas (Magpie Room) has a funny story, true or not, with a couple of versions attached to it. One is that King João I was rumored to have been caught kissing a lady-in-waiting. He supposedly had the room decorated with chattering magpies as a dig towards rumor-mongering ladies of the court. Mag, a nickname for Margaret means “idle chattering” in English slang. Mag would be the English equivalent of our local Marites (in colloquial Filipino, a woman updated on the latest gossip).

The Câmara do Ouro (Golden Chamber) also known as King Sebastião’s Room is where the king received nobility. It used to be resplendent with gold finish, but the decorations were lost over time. It still displays the State Bed made of chestnut and ebony, silvered brass and glass.

 

Annexed to this room are two smaller ones:

The Guarda-Roupa (Wardrobe), also called Mermaid’s Room because of its ceiling decoration. This is where the king and queen’s clothes, jewelry, silver and other ceremonial items are kept.

 

The Camarim (Dressing Room) is where valuable objects are stored like this Celestial Globe made of gilded metal and iron with constellations and signs of the zodiac. It’s the only known 16^th century globe of this type and the oldest in Portugal.

 

We then passed through the Sala das Galés (Galleys Room) named for the Portuguese, Imperial Ottoman and Dutch galleys painted on its ceiling.

 

The Sala dos Brasões (Coat of Arms Room) is the most spectacular of all the rooms. King Manuel I’s coat of arms at the center of the cupola lords it over the crests of 72 Portuguese noble families. Blue and white Baroque azulejos depicting scenes of gallantry cover the walls of this magnificent heraldic room.

The room that I found most intricately designed was the Capela (Royal Chapel), the oldest surviving part of the palace. The Mudejar-style ceiling, one of the oldest of its kind in existence, mimics a star-strewn sky with its “tracery” radial and star-shaped motif. The doves representing the Holy Spirit on the wall fresco added an air of serenity to the chapel.

 

Fountains seem to be a favorite fixture in the palace. I saw them in the Entrance Hall, the courtyard, the patios and one room, the Sala dos Árabes (Arab Room) even had an ornate Moorish-style fountain as its centerpiece.

 

I found it curious that the iconic feature of this palace is not a tower nor a dome but a pair of gigantic conical chimneys.

 

When we were brought to the Cozinha (Kitchen), I realized why. The two kitchens beneath them were humongous. Everything was huge – the pots, the pans, the roasting spit. They were designed to cater to hundreds of people the palace had to feed every day plus guests at the occasional banquets. The cooking must have been hectic, and the palace needed those chimneys to remain smoke-free.

We ended the tour in the Pátio Central that featured a 16^th century water spout shaped like a twisted column. The nook behind, the one inside the arches, is called Gruta dos Banhos (Grotto of the Baths) or the Water Grotto. It’s where the royals chilled because the alcove is cooled by water that spout from tiny holes in the wall.

 

As for us, we had no time to chill. We were off to lunch and another trek through history among the ruins of a castle.

 

Castelo dos Mouros

 

The Castle of the Moors is the one with the ramparts on the peak of Serra de Sintra that first attracted my gaze. This  medieval castle was erected by the Moors from the 8^th to the 9^th  century to defend the region. The territory was reclaimed by the Portuguese during the Reconquista. It is classified as a National Monument, part of the Sintra Cultural Landscape as a zone of special interest, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

We were brought to the site by a smaller bus. Our tourist bus wouldn’t be able to navigate the narrow twisting road. There’s another way up for the energetic and able-bodied – the hiking trail. That was definitely not for us. The hilly terrain within the castle grounds was already daunting for many in our group. But exploring the ancient ruins was not something I will pass up on. I’m glad I braved the trek because I not only got to walk amongst the spirits of Crusaders and Moors but was also treated to the spectacular view this high vantage point offered.

 

I relished the diversity of our tours in Sintra organized by WeFly MNL. In the morning, we travelled back in time through the opulence of a palace. In the afternoon, we meandered over castle ruins reclaimed from its conquerors by nature. After a briefing by our tour guide, we were left to enjoy a tranquil hike into history.

 

Some highlights of the castle:

 

Igreja de São Pedro de Canaferrim (Church of St. Peter of Canaferrim) is the first parish church of Sitra dating back to the 12^th century.

 

Torre Real (Royal Tower). The 220 steep steps to its top promised to show the most spectacular view of the hills and palaces surrounding the castle. It is said that on a clear day you can also see neighboring towns. My roommate Leni and I assumed the walk up would leave us gasping for breath.

 

So we contented ourselves with a climb up to the battlements of the Muralha (Castle Walls), the inner walls. The view was still stunning from where we stood.

The Alcáçova (Castle Keep) is the castle stronghold. This is where the Moorish lords reigned in times of peace and their last line of defense in times of war.

      

 

The view of Sintra National Palace from the battlements brought our day to full circle.

 

One of my favorite Castelo dos Mouros photos is the one I took of a flower that displayed gracefulness despite being on the verge of withering. I thought it represented Sintra so well – beauty in the midst of antiquity and ruin. I just had to capture it not only with my lens but also on paper. I dubbed my watercolor “Flor Antiga de Sintra” (“Ancient Bloom of Sintra”).