Category: Nature > Park
District: Braga > Braga > Palmeira > Castelo da Dona Chica
Quinta do Castelo da Dona Chica is located in Palmeira, within the municipality of Braga. This notable architectural and landscape complex stands in an area that, despite being part of the urban fabric, maintains its own distinct atmosphere, inviting the discovery of a place with history and uniqueness.
The Castelo da Dona Chica is a work with a markedly romantic and eclectic character, designed by the Swiss architect Ernesto Korrodi. Its construction began in 1915, at the initiative of Francisca Peixoto de Sousa, a figure who, coming from Brazil, left her mark on the conception of the space. The building is distinguished by a pronounced interplay of volumes and by the vast diversity of materials and languages employed, combining popular and erudite references. An extravagant fusion of styles is observed here, including Neo-Gothic, Neo-Moorish, and elements of a more rustic nature. Each volume of the structure has its own image, connected through bridges and decorative details, such as wooden or iron windows, railings, and a weather vane, where the ivy leaf motif is repeated. Even the tiles, of a green hue, were designed to harmonize with the surrounding landscape.
The beauty of Quinta do Castelo da Dona Chica extends to its surrounding woodland, a true garden with winding paths that reveal a rich botanical variety. Here, exotic tree species can be found, many originally brought from Brazil, coexisting alongside various varieties of national trees, such as oaks, plane trees, and cedars. One of the most distinctive elements is the lake, which integrates a grotto with artificial stalactites. This entire setting was designed to evoke a romantic vision, reminiscent of the medieval period, where nature is reproduced in an idealized form, favoring the atmosphere of the "woodland" over the formalism of Baroque gardens.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 41.588256456522, -8.4285216826087
Coordinates DMS: 41°35'17.7"N 08°25'42.7"W
On-duty Pharmacy Palmeira
