In 1809, Lord Byron immortalizes Monserrate when he describes Sintra as a 'Glorious Paradise' and laments 'Monserrate's ruin' in his poem 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'. A nature lover, reputed master of art and one of England's richest men, Beckford completes the construction of the Palace and launches the Garden Plantation, but a few years later returns to England, leaving Monserrate to his own fate. , sub-rent Monserrate to William Beckford.

In 1540 Abbot Gaspar Preto built a chapel on this site, which he named Monserrate after his pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Monserrat in Catalonia.ĭestroyed by the earthquake in 1755, this property is rented by the Melo e Castro Family to Gerard DeVisme, a member of the English factory in Lisbon and one of the most important businessmen of the second half of the 18th century, who after building a neo-gothic palace. Montserrat's history is cyclical: periods of great wealth follow periods of ruin. Thanks to its unique and privileged climate, Monserrate acts as a huge open-air greenhouse measuring about 30 hectares, where hundreds of species live in full harmony.Īrchitectural elements of rare beauty and of great historical importance, such as the Palace - a mix of Gothic, Moorish and Oriental styles - as well as statues, waterfalls and lakes, are factors that complement this unique Garden where Nature and Man live in total harmony.

It is one of the best known European Gardens and a wonderful example of an English garden in Portugal.

Lord byron sintra