Royal Riding School

The design of the Royal Riding School is attributed to the Bolognese Giacomo Azzolini. He was one of the architects who joined Carlo Bibiena in the planning of the Real Ópera do Tejo, destroyed in the earthquake of 1755. In 1905, the National Coach Museum was created at the Royal Riding School. After the establishment of the First Portuguese Republic, the museum’s collection was enlarged with coaches from the extinct Royal House and from the Church. Located at the lowest section of Calçada da Ajuda, the building closes the south wall of Palácio de Belém, supporting its front garden. To the east, it reveals the Calçada’s gentle slope. The great hall of the Riding School is flanked by two profusely decorated floors. The lower floor has split ashlars, similar to the ones of the exterior facade and the first floor has side galleries interspersed with colonnades topped by two tribunes. In 2014, the Coach Museum was moved to a new building and the Royal Riding School reverted to its original name.