The Palace of Pena

King Ferdinand II built a palace in the Park of Pena in the town of Sintra just north east of Lisboa between 1838 and 1849. The area including Pena Parque, Mourous Castello, Monserrate Parque and Capuchos Convento is now designated a UNESCO world heritage site. On an afternoon off the faculty and staff from Sussex went there for the afternoon. I have already posted images from the town of Sintra. Pena sits above the town at the highest point in the area and even though it was warm in Sintra it was quite cool and very windy in Pena. The castle was used as a summer palace when it became hot during the summer months in Lisboa.


The carving over the main entrance to the palace, could it be Neptune, the god of the sea?

The palace is built over many levels, however the rooms inside are quite small and somewhat conservative for royalty, although the outside does not denote conservatism. The Moorish style was all the rage during the period and the nearby Monserrate palace is the epitome of Moorish style.

The palace/castelo could have repelled invaders although it was never built for that purpose and there is one spot on the back side where I think one could climb over the wall to the battlements.

A view out to the Atlantic ocean.

We are at this point just entering the palace grounds after spending 15 minutes driving up a very steep hill and another fifteen walking.