Chronology
- 1540
Construction of the chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Monserrate on the hilltop of the Palace. The property then belonged to Lisbon’s Todos os Santos Hospital.
- 17th Century
The Mello e Castro family takes possession of the Monserrate Estate.
- 1718
Acquisition of the Estate by Caetano de Mello e Castro, Commander in the Order of Christ and Viceroy of India.
- 1755
The Lisbon earthquake leaves the estate’s houses uninhabitable.
- 1789
Gerard de Visme leases the farm and builds a Neo-Gothic palace over the ruins of the former chapel.
- 1793-94
William Beckford rents the property, carries out works on the palace and begins laying out a landscaped garden.
- 1856-63
Francis Cook sublets the Estate in 1856. The effective acquisition of the property took place in 1863. He immediately plans for the renovation of the Palace and Gardens to serve as a summer residence.
- 1949
The Portuguese state acquired the estate and its hunting grounds with a total area of 143 hectares.
- 1978
The Park and Palace of Monserrate were categorized as a building of public interest.
- 1995
UNESCO classifies the Sintra Hills, which includes the Park of Monserrate, as a World Heritage Cultural Landscape.
- 2000
Parques de Sintra takes over the management of the Park of Monserrate.
- 2007
Parques de Sintra takes on the management of the Palace of Monserrate and the corresponding responsibility for its restoration and refurbishment that enabled the palace to be reopened to the public.
