Estaus Palace
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Rossio Square
in a 16th-century map. Estaus Palace is the large building in the upper left corner of the square..png)
The Estaus Palace (
The original palace was built on the north side of the square around 1450 as lodging for foreign dignitaries and noblemen visiting Lisbon.Portuguese Inquisition
In 1536, during the reign of
execution. Rossio square and nearby St. Domingos square were frequently used as setting for public executions. The first official auto-da-fé
took place in 1540.
Among the thousands of people accused by the Inquisition and held in the prison of the Estaus are important personalities like historian Damião de Góis, poet Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage and dramatist António José da Silva, nicknamed "the Jew", executed by the Inquisition in 1737.
The Inquisition Palace was heavily damaged in the catastrophic 1755 Lisbon earthquake, but was rebuilt under designs by Carlos Mardel. This building was destroyed by fire in 1836. The Inquisition was not abolished in Portugal until 1821.
Teatro Nacional D. Maria II
Thanks to the efforts of writer
Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, built to a Neoclassical design by Italian architect Fortunato Lodi. The theatre stands today on the site of the old Estaus Palace. A statue of Renaissance Portuguese playwright Gil Vicente is located over the pediment
of the theatre. Ironically, some of Gil Vicente's plays had been censured by the Inquisition in the late 16th century.
References
- General Bureau for National Buildings and Monuments (in Portuguese)
- Giuseppe Marcocci, Toward a History of the Portuguese Inquisition Trends in Modern Historiography (1974-2009)