- Estaus Palace
The Estaus Palace (Portuguese: "Paço dos Estaus"; "Palácio dos Estaus") in
Rossio Square , inLisbon , was the headquarters of thePortuguese Inquisition .The original palace was built on the north side of the square around 1450 as lodging for foreign dignitaries and noblemen visiting Lisbon. In 1536, during the reign of King John III, the Inquisition was installed in Portugal, and the palace eventually became the seat of the institution. The palace had a prison and tribunal where the accused of
heresy , witchcraft and, particularly, of secretly practicising the Jewish faith (New Christians ), were subjected to trial. Rossio square and nearby St. Domingos square were frequently used as setting for public executions. The first officialauto-da-fé took place in 1540.Among the thousands of people accused by the Inquisition and held in the prison of the Estaus are important personalities like historian
Damião de Góis , poetManuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage and dramatistAntónio José da Silva , nicknamed "the Jew", executed by the Inquisition in 1737.The Inquisition Palace survived the catastrophic
1755 Lisbon Earthquake , but was finally destroyed by fire in 1836 (the Inquisition had been abolished in Portugal in 1821). Thanks to the efforts of writerAlmeida Garrett , the palace was replaced in 1842 by theTeatro Nacional D. Maria II , built to a Neoclassical design by Italian architect Fortunato Lodi. The theatre stands today on the site of the old Estaus Palace. A statue ofRenaissance Portuguese playwriterGil Vicente is located over thepediment of the theatre. Ironically, some of Gil Vicente's plays had been censured by the Inquisition in the late 16th century.References
* [http://www.monumentos.pt/ General Bureau for National Buildings and Monuments (in Portuguese)]
ee also
*
Rossio
*Teatro Nacional D. Maria II
*Portuguese Inquisition
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