The Estoi Palace is a Rococo style work of art found in the district of Estoi, Faro County, unique in the region and dating back to 1840.
The palace was the idea of a local nobleman, Fernando Carvalhal de Vasconcelos, son of Francisco José de Carvalhal e Vasconcelos (the proprietor of the Casa das Açafatas in Faro). Another local, José Francisco da Silva, acquired the palace and finished it in 1909.
He became Viscount of Estoi thanks to the money and effort that he gave to its construction. The work was designed by architect Domingos da Silva Meira.
The influence for this commitment probably came from the example of D. Fernando de Saxe Coburgo, husband of Queen D. Maria II, who brought about the recovery of many historical Portuguese monuments and for the romantics still latent in the souls of the Portuguese of that era, not forgetting the golden age of the Belle-Epoque that they lived.
He contracted national artists in all areas and of the highest level of that era: garden landscaping, plastering and tiling, painting and watch making, sculpturing of woodwork. He also travelled to find works of art and international artists devoted to turning the palace into a true symbol.
The palace also has some gardens with orange groves and palm trees which work well with its cheerful rococo style. The lower terrace displays a pavilion and some blue and white tiles, the Cascade House, in the interior of which is a copy of the Three Graces by Canova. The upper terrace, the level with the House of Bethlehem, has a large pavilion with stained glass, fountains decorated with nymphs and niches in tiles depicting pastoral scenes.
In the exterior a swimming pool and Versailles style gardens take up part of a property of around four hectares, near to the ruins of Milreu. The old stables of the Palace have been converted into various ideal spaces for meetings and events.
The Estoi Palace was classified as Property of Public Interest in 1977.
The History of Estoi
Estoi is a small village between São Brás de Alportel and Faro. Visitors of this magnificent village in the Mountains of the Algarve aren’t in search of beaches but of the inescapable architectural richness of a National Heritage.
Among the typical Algarvian houses and the flower filled streets you will find the Rococo style Palace that appears to have been taken from a story of kings and queens with gardens adorned with orange and palms trees.
A lot of Estoi's history is owed to a local personality, José Francisco da Silva, a local of Estoi who was born in 1840, studied pharmacy and lived in Beja where he became a major landowner with a consolidated fortune. He was also an important politician, becoming the leader of the Progressive Party and Civil Governor.
In his testimony, he aspired for the needy people of his village with the Civil Hospital, the Mercy of Beja, and in Estoi the Parish Council, to whom bequeathed money and land for the construction of a building purposely for the Primary School.
The palace was inherited to D. Maria do Carmo Melo Machado. The state classified the whole of the palace, its gardens and the statues as Property of Public Interest.
With a remarkable historical connotation stand the Roman ruins of Milreu. On 9 December 2004 the alteration of the name of the parish (previously Estói) was approved in Parliament.
Estoi is a destination close to the Barrocal Mountains, a quiet village where you are well received and from where you take with you unforgettable memories of the cuisine. In the small village of Estoi the party is never left in the hands of others, many celebrations are held by the locals of Estoi to cheer passers-by and to bring life to the village.