The Pena National Palace (Portuguese: Palácio Nacional da Pena) is a Romanticist palace in São Pedro de Penaferrim, municipality of Sintra, Portugal. The palace stands on the top of a hill above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon and much of its metropolitan area. It is a national monument and constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th century Romanticism in the world. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. It is also used for state occasions by the President of the Portuguese Republic and other government officials.
The Pena Palace has a profusion of styles much in accordance with the exotic taste of the Romanticism. The intentional mixture of eclectic styles includes the Neo-Gothic, Neo-Manueline, Islamic and Neo-Renaissance. References to other prominent Portuguese buildings such as the Belém Tower are also present.
Almost the entire palace stands on rock. Structurally, it can be divided in four sections:
the foundations and its enveloping walls, with two gateways (one of which is protected by a drawbridge)
the restored structure of the old convent, and the clock tower
the Arches Yard in front of the chapel, with its wall of Moorish arches
the palatial zone and its cylindric bastion, with interiors decorated in the cathédrale style.
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