This old royal summer palace was built on the site of an old Moorish fort, starting in 1281 and continued until about 16th century. Various heights of buildings reflect the hilly nature of the site. The layout of the open air internal patios, arched windows and richly decorated geometric tiled surfaces show the Moorish influence of the craftsmen who built it. It is famous for the two large cone shaped chimneys formed by the large kitchen tapering up to each 33 m high chimney. Also for the Swan room with 27 panels of swans in different poses, the Magpie room with 136 magpies painted on the ceiling, one for each woman in court, and the Palatine room with frescoes of doves. Its tiled floor and carved wooden latticework ceiling are some of the oldest examples of Mudejear work in Portugal. The Heraldry room walls are covered in blue and white tiles depicting mostly hunting scenes, all in such fine detail you can see shoe bows, and ceilings depicting the royal family's and noble's coats of arms are a blaze of colour. One of the later rooms is the Manueline room with all the usual amazing detailed formwork.
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