Friday October 6th - Regaleira

Friday October 6th - Regaleira

Today we visited the magnificent Quinta da Regaleira Palace and Gardens nestled in the hills above Sintra.

The property that is now Quinta da Regaleira had many owners over the years. It belonged to the Viscountess of Regaleira, a family of wealthy merchants from Porto, and sold in 1942 to Waldemar d'Orey, who used it as private residence for his extensive family of 18 children. In 1987 it was sold to the Japanese Aoki Corporation and ceased to serve as a residence. It finally opened to the public in June 1998 and began hosting cultural events. In August of that same year, the Portuguese Ministry of Culture classified the estate as "public interest property".

One of the most fascinating and impressive structures is the Initiation Well. The original owner Carvalho Monteiro was possibly an initiate of the Knights Templar, a Catholic military order which originated in the early 1100’s and likely disbanded in the 1300’s. However, groups like the Freemasons revived their rituals and traditions hundreds of years later. It is believed that initiations at Quinta da Regaleira began with blindfolded candidates entering one of the wells. They purportedly held a sword close to their heart and descended the 9 flights of stairs. Once they reached the bottom of the well, they walked into a dark labyrinth and needed to find their way up towards the light then to the chapel, where they were welcomed into the brotherhood.

The entrance to the well lies hidden within a "secret" opening between two boulders perched atop one of the garden's many hills. Once inside a short hallway leads to the top of the circular stairway that surrounds the interior walls of the well.

The view from the top of the stairs is impressive and a testament to the engineering skills of the Italian architect Luigi Manini.

Each landing of the stairway represents one of 8 levels of enlightenment.

Here is Betty being enlightened.

Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase a roughhewn hallway leads to a network of excavated tunnels connecting to other initiation chambers and wells throughout the property.

At the end of the tunnel waits a splendid waterfall adorned by ferns and moss and a view to the gardens

The view from gardens looking to the top of mount Sintra reveals the impressive profile and ramparts of the Palácio da Pena mentioned in yesterday's post.