A jewel in the Algarve’s crown

By ELOISE WALTON [email protected]

Beautifully refurbished and standing proudly overlooking the eastern Algarve, the palace of Estoi is one of the jewels in the region’s crown.

Estoi parish president José Brito told the Algarve Resident about the colourful story behind this historical building.

Estoi was a rich agricultural area in the 18th century, he said, and many wealthy families from Faro who had farms would spend their summers there for the harvest of olives, carobs and figs, among other crops.

“It was in those times that the Estoi palace was built by a man called Francisco José de Carvalhal e Vasconcelos,” said José Brito. “The palace is contemporary with the construction of France’s palace of Versailles.”

The trend of building palaces was common across Europe to unite noble families near the king and symbolised the monarch’s absolute power.

“Francisco, who was in the military before having the palace built, was a very clever man. As he was a nobleman, he was sent to court and there chose a wife who was one of the Queen’s ladies in waiting, making himself a close acquaintance of the royal couple,” said José Brito.

He added that Francisco grew to feel very self-important, “he felt like a little king”, and when his father died, he was left with the piece of land in the Algarve where the palace now stands.

To receive the properties left by his father, however, Francisco was instructed to build a church to Saint Joseph, which would be open to the public.  “To build this church, Francisco asked the King and Queen if they would allow him to use the services of their royal architect, and they accepted,” he said.

Baroque style furniture has been kept as a feature in the palace.

“The architect then suggested also rebuilding the old house, which presented more of an interesting challenge for him.”

As the palace was contemporary to Versailles, it was designed in the French Baroque style with influences from Italian palaces that incorporated a farm and gardens.

“It was a completely unique project, however, it remains unknown which architect designed it,” said José Brito.

“Many historians believe that Mateus de Oliveira was the architect at the time, however it could also have been Manuel Caetano de Sousa.”

What is now certain is that the palace was built by 1782.

“For many years, it was believed that Estoi Palace was built during the romantic period around 1840, but five years ago a map was discovered in Torre do Tombo, the national archive in Lisbon, which proved the existence of the palace almost 100 years before,” he said.

Illegitimate son

In 1893, the building was acquired by Viscount José Francisco da Silva, who restored it with Baroque style decoration inside.

The original structure of the palace remained the same and this restoration, which ended in 1909, was celebrated with a grand party at the palace on May 2 that same year.

“As this man died without any legitimate heirs, he left many homes and lands to his employees and the palace, along with the rest of the fortune, went to a cousin,” he said.

A French-style geometric garden behind the palace has been restored, while gardens with tiles and water features further down are still in the process of being prepared for a public opening in the future.

According to José Brito, this is not the end of his story as the Viscount had an illegitimate son who 10 years after his father’s death won a court case to receive a part of the wealth.

After this, the palace gradually fell into disrepair until the 1980s when Estoi-born José Brito intervened and started the process that would see the building restored to its former glory and beyond.

“The roof of the palace was restored in 1983 because at that time I worked in the ministry of public works in Lisbon and was able to raise awareness about the ruin of this piece of heritage,” he said.

“I also wrote to the minister of culture at that time, Vasco Pulido Valente, to alert him that foreigners were looking to buy the building as the family who owned it had no money to restore it.”

With this, the Portuguese government started the process to purchase the palace from the Viscount’s descendents before it fell into private hands. This process was completed in 1987.

Following a two-year restoration, costing around 11 million euros, Estoi Palace reopened to the public as a pousada or guesthouse, earlier this year.

It is now owned by the Portuguese government and managed by the Pestana hotels group and boasts a range of the modern facilities such as outdoor and indoor swimming pools, spa and restaurant.

Although the refurbishment of the palace included the construction of an ultra modern wing to serve as accommodation, original features and furniture have also been kept and restored to merge old and new.

This newly built ultra modern wing is used for accommodating guests who stay at Estoi palace.

The original gardens, which were designed in the French style with geometric designs and decorated with statues and water features, are now in the process of being restored by Faro Câmara. Orange and palm trees as well as rococo style tiled panels are also features in the garden, which will be open to the public.

Estoi Palace is open for visitors to look at the original rooms and gardens as well as have lunch, dinner or drinks.

The restaurant facilities are open from 1pm until 3pm and from 7.30pm until 10pm.

For more information about staying at the palace, please visit the website, available in English, at www.pousadas.pt Alternatively, telephone 289 990 150 or email [email protected]