Pombeiro Palace – Italian Embassy

The Italian Embassy in Portugal is at the Palácio dos Condes de Pombeiro, bought in 1925 by the Italian government. This palace was built in the first decades of the 18th century, when the Count of Pombeiro followed the wishes of his grandmother, D. Luísa Ponce de Leão, lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Braganza, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. The building grows around a patio, turns its main facade to the west and develops a set of volumes with terraces along the sidewalk facing the Arroios valley. Inside, it is worth noting the profusely decorated Ballroom, the Pompeiana Room and the Gallery, as well as the 18th-century white and blue tiles evoking Catherine of Braganza. The garden grows to the north and the east and surrounds the chapel of Santa Maria Madalena with a circular plan from the 16th century. Two tile panels by Marta Wengorovius and Pedro Proença, inspired in Antonio Tabucchi’s “Requiem”, were dedicated to the victims of Covid-19 and placed inside this church in 2020. To the north, the garden showcases an obelisk evocative of World War I.

NB: For this visit, it is necessary to present a Digital Vaccination Certificate or negative test to Covid 19.