180th MGCP Concentração

As we are far from exhausting Cascais' cultural heritage, this time we went to visit the Palácio dos Condes da Guarda, also known as the Casa dos Azulejos. Today, as well as housing the City Hall, it also houses the Town Museum on the ground floor.

The two Tourism Technicians who accompanied us explained the evolution of this two-storey building which dates back to the 18th century. It has since been enlarged by work carried out in the 20th century, particularly in 1918 when three separate buildings were joined together. The most distinctive feature of the building is the external use of decorative tiles of Saints, specifically Saint Sebastian, Saint Anthony, Saint Martial, Saint Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Saint Jerome, Luke the Evangelist and Saint John. These are considered to be the largest collection of such tiles ever applied to the facades of a single property. The oldest are believed to have been produced at the Real Fábrica de Louça do Rato in 1790. This was a ceramic factory in Lisbon that was founded by the Marquis of Pombal and, between 1767 and 1835, pioneered the manufacture of modern pottery, particularly tableware, in Portugal.

On the first floor there are decorations in neo-baroque style. Archaeological work carried out in 1992 in the area of the main entrance revealed traces of occupation by fishing communities between the 13th and 17th centuries with the land believed to have been used for manufacture and repair of nets.

The first written information about the existence of the palace dates back to the end of the 18th century during the Napoleonic wars when the house was chosen by the governor of Cascais to house the British Navy Admiral Sir Charles Cotton. In 1810, the property was sold to João Lopes Calheiros de Menezes, who settled there. In 1860, when one of his heirs received the title of the first Count of Guarda the house became known as the Palácio dos Condes da Guarda. In 1918 the building was acquired by the lawyer Herlander Ribeiro who had plans to use it as a hotel and casino. However, these plans failed to eventuate and in 1932 the building was sold to the Municipality of Cascais.

After this interesting visit, the participants returned to their cars parked in the Marechal Carmona Park and left for a Rally Paper - Caça ao Ovo da Páscoa - that should finish in the Urban Park of Ribeira dos Mochos for lunch. At the end of the meal the Easter Eggs were awarded to the top three.

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