At this event we will get to know the Palácio da Independência/Condes de Almada, right in the heart of Lisbon, but still unknown to many, who pass by it every day without knowing all its history, interiors and gardens, which are well worth a more attentive and lengthy visit.

Palace of Independence:

Founded in 1467 by D. Fernando de Almada, its original medieval layout has undergone changes, with 4 portals and 2 large faceted cone chimneys, similar to those of the Sintra Town Palace, remaining from that period. The current building thus reflects a language resulting from the Manueline and Mannerist interventions. With a rectangular plan centred on a courtyard designed to allow carriages to circulate, the exterior of the building is articulated in two rigorously structured façades, with an almost total absence of ornamentation, and animated by the opening of rows of rectangular-framed bay windows, concentrated in a large portal, surmounted by a balcony with balusters to which the central window of the noble floor opens, topped by the Almada coat of arms. Noteworthy inside are the Baroque tile panels, the albarradas and the Joanine historiated tiles. This palace is classified as a National Monument, not only for its artistic value, but also for its historical and political tradition. It was here that the conspirators who led to the Restoration of Portugal's Independence in 1640 met several times. Almeida Garrett lived in the palace in 1834 and the first public commemoration of Independence took place in the building in 1861. Donated to the state in 1940 and after successive occupation by various organisations, the palace was handed over in its entirety to the Historical Society of the Independence of Portugal in 1983, which carried out work to install services, a library and exhibition areas.

- Independence Palace -