Vila Vicosa - Part 3

13 November 2007

The Palace of the Dukes of Braganza, begun in 1501, is the birthplace of many of the powerful of Portugal’s past including King João IV, here in all his resplendent glory.

The palace, completed in the 18^th century (over 200 years of construction), has a main façade of local marble and was inspired by Italian Renaissance architecture. Each of the 3 floors from bottom to top corresponds to one of the classical traditions: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.

The 50 rooms open to the public house precious private art collections and extremely rare books originally collected by Portugal’s last reigning monarch, Manuel II. The art collection includes paintings by the best Portuguese artists of the 19^th century, Flemish and French tapestries, wall and ceiling frescoes and old armour. The library houses over 50,000 volumes and has a public reading room. The reserve collection includes 15^th and 16^th century printed books including the Livro de Marco Paulo (1502).

Adjoining the palace is the Duchess’ Pantheon.

Today it is one of 40 Pousadas de Portugal, a chain of exclusive hotels. But for seniors (55+) there is a 40% discount off the rack rate. If you travel between 1 November and 31 March that means you can get a good room here for 90 Euros including breakfast for two. Seniors can also get a Passport valid for more or less the same months for 375 Euros covering 5 nights (so 75 Euros per night) with breakfast for two and 3 vouchers worth 25% off in their restaurants. So all you need now is a plane ticket to enjoy a hotel like this.

Did we mention the toilet facilities?