Estoi Palace (Portuguese: Palácio de Estoi), also known as Casa de Estói, Quinta de Estói, and Quinta do Carvalhal, and originally as Jardim de Estoy, is a historic building located near the town of Estói, in the municipality of Faro, in the Algarve region of Portugal. Part of the Estoi Palace complex is occupied by a hotel. It is considered one of the Algarve's main monuments due to its architectural and decorative richness, combining elements of Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Romantic styles. It has been classified as a Property of Public Interest.
The Estoi Palace complex is large in size and consists of two main components: an old manor house and the gardens. The manor house consists of several sections, roughly forming a U-shaped structure, with the Jardim do Carrascal at the center. It is primarily in the Italian Baroque style, with various elements in other styles. This variety of styles and forms does not always result in a harmonious combination, creating inconsistencies between the elements and resulting in arrangements that could almost be considered kitsch.
Inside, there are several richly ornamented and furnished rooms, decorated in the French style of the 18th century. One of the most prominent areas of the palace is the chapel, which features a bell tower and a Louis XV-style interior, with a tiled ceiling and painted roof. The extensive gardens are organized on three levels and are partially combined with various areas for agricultural production. This area is also richly decorated with exotic trees, sculptures, and tiles, mainly in the Baroque style. Among the most outstanding elements are an 18th-century nativity scene, the sculpture of the Three Graces, made in Pisa, the Ossónoba Fountain set, and two sculptures of shepherds in Carrara marble. On the third floor, the two belvederes, decorated with paintings by Francisco Sousa Alves, are also noteworthy. The tiles in the gardens include polychrome panels on the middle level and blue and white panels by José Maria Pereira Junior on the upper level.
The palace has its origins in an 18th-century Quinta founded by Marshal Francisco de Pereira Coutinho, who was connected to the high nobility and was probably inspired by the National Palace of Queluz. The Quinta was built during a period of great economic and social change in the region, with bourgeois families gaining power in the urban centers, relegating the old noble families to their estates in the interior of the Algarve. Construction of the palace itself did not begin until the mid-19th century, by his son, Fernando de Carvalhal e Vasconcelos, who may have been influenced by the Pena Palace in Sintra. However, he died before the work was completed, and it was taken over by his brother Luís Filipe do Carvalhal, who also died before the palace was finished. The property therefore passed to his younger brother, José Maria Pereira do Carvalhal, and then to his sisters. The property remained abandoned until the 1890s when it was bought by , who restarted the work. The palace was inaugurated in May 1909, in a grand event that lasted three days. José Francisco da Silva died in 1926, and the palace then passed through several owners, leading to its progressive degradation. Despite being classified as a Property of Public Interest in 1977, the first steps towards restoring the palace were only taken at the end of the 1980s when it was acquired by the municipality of Faro. The monument underwent extensive conservation work throughout the 1990s, and during that time, plans began to be made to convert it into a guesthouse, as a way of promoting its profitability. In 2003, work began on adapting it into a guesthouse, which was inaugurated at Easter 2009.
Description
Location and access The Palace of Estói is located roughly in the northern area of the village of the same name and is part of its urban fabric. It is accessed via the streets of Horta Nova and São José, with the latter being the main entrance to the palace. The archaeological site of the Roman ruins of Milreu is located near the palace. The village of Estói is situated in a rural setting, in the transition between the Barrocal and the coastal strip of the Algarve. It is about 10 km from the county capital, the city of Faro.
Conservation and importance The palace and its gardens are known for their eclectic architecture and are considered by many authors to be the most significant example of romantic architecture in the Algarve and one of the most important in the country. The property also stands out for its rich decoration, large dimensions, and the complex integration of the gardens with spaces dedicated to agricultural production. It is regarded as one of the main monuments of Estói, alongside the Roman ruins of Milreu, making the village one of the best-known in the Algarve region.
The palace's importance stems in part from its unique monumentality in the region, where palatial heritage is uncommon due to the poor economic conditions over the past few centuries, social instability, and natural disasters. In an article published in the periodical Povo Algarvio in 1963, journalist Luciano Marcos emphasized how the palace and its gardens were a recreation of the wealthy residences of the past: “In the charming palace of Estoi one could shoot a film without spending astronomical amounts of money, as large companies do when they want to create films depicting the opulent life of bygone times. It was exactly this kind of life that I saw around me when I looked at that terrace with a beautiful lake in the middle, upon which stood a valiant work in marble, a masterpiece of the sinzel, like all the busts and human figures this palace contains.”
The palace and its gardens have been classified as a Property of Public Interest and are part of the protection zone of the .
Composition
The Estoi Palace is an example of an old manor house, primarily used during the summer months. It can be classified as a recreational estate due to its composition, which includes the palatial building itself and various open spaces, including extensive gardens. The concept of a recreational estate emerged in the 18th century in the Algarve to describe a property that combined both economic and leisure aspects. In the case of Estoi Palace, the productive areas, such as the citrus groves, were integrated with the garden spaces, which feature various recreational structures and amenities, such as fresco houses, tea pavilions, a bandstand, and several artificial lakes.
The palace is not the only example of a pleasure farm in the municipality of Faro, as other properties can be classified as such, including the and the former . The property is organized in a roughly north–south direction, with the main façade facing north, so that the palace building and the gardens are oriented to the south.
Although the palace complex is a distinct element of Estoi's urban fabric due to its architecture and the structure of its various spaces, it still maintains a connection to the village through the road network, which influenced its organization. This is particularly evident in a road that runs through the property, from the Ossónoba Garden in Estoi, providing access to various agricultural plots, and leading to the division of the gardens into two distinct areas. On the other hand, the palace and its grounds also limited the urban expansion of Estoi, especially to the north.
Palace
The palace is a single-story, horizontal building, with the central section higher and protruding from the rest of the façade. The various volumes of the palace are organized in a roughly U-shape, with a square green space in the center, the Jardim do Carrascal, which was originally considered the main entrance to the palace. The exterior façade is relatively sober, organized symmetrically with decorative elements in mortar designed to imitate limestone. The façade facing the gardens is divided into three sections by Ionic pilasters, each of which is divided by a semicircular balcony opening, topped by an oculus with a counter-curved pediment. The building, which forms the upper part of the palace complex, was constructed on an artificial platform to dominate the gardens and the production area, in accordance with 18th-century Enlightenment principles. This influence is also evident in the logical organization of the palace's volumes, with the noble areas in the center, flanked by side wings and the chapel. This arrangement was also influenced by the natural slope of the land on the site of the building.
The building features a mix of styles, with a primary influence from the Italian Baroque, along with elements of Neoclassical, Neo-Rococo, and Art Nouveau. Vilhena de Mesquita described the palace in 1988 as having twenty-eight rooms, which are of particular interest due to their size and the richness of their furnishings and decoration. Notable rooms include the Great Hall, the Dining Room, and the Visitors' Room, the latter also known as the Sala Azul. The interior decoration follows the French style of the 18th century, with the Great Hall, for example, designed in the Louis XV style. This room was decorated with ceiling paintings and windows by Adolfo Greno, along with small canvases by the artist (Pereira Cão). The gilded stucco painting was created by Manuel da Costa. The furniture was supplied by Manuel Marino's company and features lacquerwork by the artist Domingos Costa. Both Adolfo Greno and Domingos Costa also contributed to the interior decoration of the .
The Renaissance-style Dining Room also stands out for its ceiling paintings, executed by José Maria Pereira Júnior, and its walnut furniture, with Italian-style carvings. Next is the Visiting Room, also decorated in the Louis XV style, with a ceiling painted by Domingos Costa and furniture supplied by Manuel Marino's company. Other notable features of the palace include two rooms with ceilings painted by the artist Maria Barreta from Naples, and the vestibule that leads to the Jardim do Carrascal. The palace's rooms are square and rectangular in shape and can be accessed through long, narrow corridors, although most rooms have connecting doors. Another prominent artist who worked on the palace was Pereira Cão, who contributed as a tile maker and decorative painter.
Chapel and guesthouse
On the western side of the palace building is the chapel, which also borders the Jardim do Carrascal. It has a longitudinal plan, with a single nave, and an imposing bell tower. The main façade is single-paned, with a prominent basement, and is topped by a triangular pediment. The interior of the chapel also follows a Louis XV aesthetic, with walls lined with tiles and a ceiling painted with scenes of the Ascension of Christ by the artist Francisco Luís Alves. The chapel was dedicated to the Holy Family and originally featured a painting with this theme on the high altar, painted in 1755 by Santos Ferreira, from the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid. However, the painting was stolen around 1988. Also of interest are the two side altars and two 17th-century paintings, one of which is attributed to . Other notable features of the palace include a tower for accessing the roofs, a water tank, and two fresco houses.