You may not know that near Lisbon, more precisely 25 kilometers from the center of the Portuguese capital, there is a magnificent project. A palace, convent and basilica with proportions worthy of the court and which should receive many more visitors. Just to give you an idea of the size, the building was built on a four-hectare plot of land and has 37,790m2 of built area. There are more than 4,700 doors and windows in 1,200 rooms. There are 156 stairs and there are 29 courtyards and lobbies. Because of this grandeur, the Mafra National Palace it has the longest palatial pedestrian corridor in Europe: 232 meters separate the king's and queen's apartments, one in each tower.
Work began in November 1717 and the Basilica was inaugurated in 1730. To decorate the luxurious church, in the middle of the Palace, 58 large marble statues were ordered. carrara by various artists in addition to the use of stones and noble wood for the floor, windows and decoration. On the side of the palatial corridor that connects the north and south towers, there are large windows from which we can see the basilica from above and see the celebrations held there. Entirely covered in marble, the basilica also has six organs from the beginning of the 19th century.
But in addition to being an imposing basilica, the place was created as a palace for the royal family to spend holidays and hunt in the surroundings, in the village of Mafra. Hunting was such a source of pride that there is a large room decorated with this motif and where the relics and achievements of hunting were destined. But it's so grand, the palace has a pharmacy, hospital, chapel attached to the small hospital, gigantic kitchens, rooms and more rooms that date back to the history of the Portuguese royal family, such as the room of discoveries, the room of blessing and dozens of other rooms and halls. .
The library
Perhaps the icing on the Mafra Palace cake is its impressive library, which is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. There are more than 30 thousand classic and important works and many of them rare, beautifully placed on shelves in rococo style. The floor is all marble with beautiful designs. And it, like the rest of the palace, is grand: it is 88 meters long and 9.5 meters wide with a ceiling over 13 meters high. Many of the works are bound in leather and engraved in gold. Among the rare works are the second edition of Os Lusíadas by Luis de Camões. It is really impressive and we cannot visit it completely, we can only see it just beyond the doors, which is completely understandable, as we know how many tourists are and this would destroy the beauty and antique aura of the place.
A really cool urban legend is that the works in the palace library are very well preserved with the help of bats, which help prevent other pests and keep the books intact. Another is that, when the convent of Mafra, at the back of the building, was at its peak, with just over 300 religious, 120 barrels of wine were consumed per year in addition to having two cows per religious, to supply them with meat and milk.
What's really worth it is dedicating two hours to visit this beautiful palace made of iloz stone and built mostly in the Johannine Baroque style, with Germanic influence.
And to make your trip even better, we at Portugal Afora will take you there.