Ribeira Palace

The Ribeira Palace (Portuguese: "Paço(s) da Ribeira") was Lisbon's royal palace for over 200 years, until it was destroyed by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. The square in which the Palace was located is now one of the most important Lisbon squares, the Praça do Comércio.

History

When staying in Lisbon during the Middle Ages, the Kings of Portugal would stay at Lisbon Castle, which crowns a high hill in the Alfama neighbourhood. In the 15th and early 16th centuries, maritime exploration during the Age of Discovery made Lisbon an increasingly important port city, responsible for the commerce between the nascent Portuguese Empire and Africa and India. In this context, King Manuel I decided, around 1500, to build a new royal palace on the banks of the Tagus river (the "Ribeira"), completely changing the urban landscape of the city .

The Ribeira Palace was finished around 1511. King Manuel I and the court were now close to the commercial and industrial heart of the city. The areas around the palace were occupied by the harbour, the shipbuilding area (the so-called "Ribeira das Naus"), customs and other buildings responsible for the regulation of maritime commerce.

This initial building occupied the west side of a vast area by the river, the precursor of today's Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square) in Lisbon. The style of the Palace was probably the manueline (Portuguese late Gothic), and it had a series of renaissance arched galleries in its façade. Its tower closest to the river was later turned into a terrace from which the busy activity in the river and port could be appreciated. The Palace also had a private garden with fruit trees and vegetables.

When the Portuguese crown fell into the hands of Philip II of Spain (Philip I of Portugal), in 1580, the Spanish King visited Lisbon and ordered the construction of a new tower to the Palace. This huge tower, located by the river and built in classical mannerist style, was designed by the Italian "Felipe Terzi". It dominated the urban landscape in the Ribeira and was a favourite drawing motif for painters visiting Lisbon. The whole façade of the Palace was also renovated in mannerist style. The famous Royal Library was installed in the tower.

Another King to improve the Palace was John V, who invested great sums - derived from the gold mines in colonial Brazil - to enlarge and embellish the Ribeira Palace. The original manueline chapel was turned into a magnificent baroque church, and the Palace gained another wing, parallel to the previous one. Later in the century, King Joseph I built a Royal Opera House by the Palace, designed by the Italian Giuseppe Bibiena.

The Opera House, inaugurated in 1755, lasted only a few months. On the 1st of November of 1755, a huge earthquake, and resulting tsunami and fire destroyed the palace and most of Lisbon. King Joseph I was not at the palace and survived. His Prime Minister, the 1st Marquess of Pombal, coordinated a massive reconstruction effort that would give rise to the Pombaline Downtown of Lisbon. The royal family abandoned the Ribeira area and moved to palaces in the areas of Ajuda and Belém.

The old Palace Square ("Terreiro do Paço") gave rise to a new square, the Pombaline Commerce Square ("Praça do Comércio"). The two towers at the corners of the square are still reminiscent of the old tower of the Ribeira Palace.

ee also

*Pombaline Downtown
*Praça do Comércio

References

*José-Augusto França. "Lisboa: Arquitectura e Urbanismo". Biblioteca Breve. Instituto de Cultura e Língua Portuguesa (ICALP), 1980. (in Portuguese).

External links

* [http://nisee.berkeley.edu/elibrary/getimg?id=KZ75 Engraving of the Ribeira Palace after the 1755 earthquake]
* [http://nisee.berkeley.edu/elibrary/getimg?id=KZ76 Engraving of repairs after the 1755 earthquake]
* [http://www.ippar.pt/sites_externos/bajuda/htm/guia/prib.htm Images]