Ducal Palace Garden

Category: Nature > Garden

District: Évora > Vila Viçosa > Vila Viçosa > Nossa Senhora da Conceição e São Bartolomeu

Location

The Garden of the Ducal Palace is located in the heart of the historic center of Vila Viçosa, an Alentejo village with a deep connection to marble. The region's geology, with its vast occurrences of marble surfacing, significantly influenced local architecture. The climate is typically Mediterranean, with long, hot summers and mild winters, contributing to the particular atmosphere experienced in this green space.

A Creation of Leisure and Beauty

This garden is a remarkable expression of a pleasure farm, conceived over centuries with stylistic elements ranging from the Renaissance to the Baroque. It is a space where architecture and vegetation unite in an intentional design, created for moments of leisure and contemplation. Benches, flowerbeds, statues, and water features are integrated into a harmonious composition, designed to form pleasant environments. Part of the area, which in other times served agricultural production functions, was skillfully adapted for recreational enjoyment, extending through paths flanked by hedges and passages under trellises.

The Secrets of the Forest Garden

Also known as the Duchess's Garden, this area features a rectangular design and is bordered by a wall with elegant marble sill windows, fitted with iron railings and conversation seats. A main entrance, facing the palace facade, leads to a quadrangular courtyard housing a central tank, flanked by four boxwood beds filled with flowers. An old "Casa de Fresco", or pleasure house, stands out with its architecture of arcades and slender columns. Inside, a sunken courtyard reveals a tank with a rock and a fountain hidden under ivy, where the bust of D. Luísa de Gusmão is located. Imagination comes alive in the adjacent Gruta das Amazonas (Amazons' Grotto), an oval space with a vaulted ceiling where frescoes depict a fantastic forest and exotic birds. An Amazon waterfall, adorned with sea pebbles and symbolic figures, completes this unique setting, whose exterior walls are enriched with tiles portraying the history of the kings of Portugal.

The Art of Geometry and the Fountains

The Ladies' Garden, located near the palace's rear facade, is characterized by its parterres and boxwood beds, arranged in a rectangular shape. Separated from this by a path, the Riding School Garden asserts itself with its vast area of beds and boxwood parterres with a distinctly geometric design. Rounded topiary at the corners adds an artistic touch to the space, while three paths converge towards a wall, punctuated by polygonal bowl fountains, creating a visual rhythm. Formerly, this place was used for ball games, adding a layer of history to its current function.

The Vastness of the Reguengo and the Island

The Reguengo area, accessible through a vaulted passage, offers a different perspective of the complex. Here, large rectangular tanks are found, one with a walkway, and others adorned with rocks. Two parallel paths structure the space: one flanked by white posts of an old vine trellis and another paved, with a tall hedge, leading to vestiges of a noria and a reserve area where white deer live, as well as a field of rare and varied tulip species. The area known as "Ilha" (Island) integrates the old stables and other support buildings, in a landscaped environment with flowering boxwood beds, shrubs, fruit trees, and secular olive trees, with external access through the Porta do Nó (Knot Gate), an element of historical and architectural value.

A Verdant History

The origin of this vast garden complex dates back to the early 16th century, with the construction of the ducal palace. Historical documents from 1537 already describe a "large and beautiful garden" with tanks and fruit and shade trees. By 1552, it was already celebrated as a place "surrounded by fragrant flowers, which could be called the Garden of the Hesperides," emphasizing its beauty and importance. Over the centuries, the garden underwent various interventions and improvements, witnessing the change of styles and the evolution of its owners' taste. Despite the vicissitudes of history, including the period when it ceased to be a permanent residence of the royal family, this space was maintained and restored, particularly in the first half of the 20th century, when the Forest Garden was enriched with tiles brought by D. Manuel II. Today, it retains its recreational and cultural function, reflecting the heritage of the House of Bragança.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt