Tapada da Ajuda – ISA, School of Agriculture

Tapada da Ajuda is located on the eastern and southern flanks of Monsanto, in the 17th century it served as Royal hunting grounds for John IV of Portugal, associated with the Calvário Royal Palace and Farm. During the second half of the 19th century the Tapada was occupied by the Agricultural Institute and Regional School of Lisbon, the Lisbon Astronomical Observatory, as well as the Agricultural Exhibition Pavilion, showcasing exotic flora. After the establishment of the Republic, the Tapada fostered the School of Agriculture that built several edifices to teach and research agriculture and forestry. The property currently displays a mosaic landscape with plots of crops, vegetable and flower gardens, orchards, olive groves, vineyards and recreational areas. On a hill north of the pavilion is the António Xavier Coutinho Botanical Reserve, amongst a network of water mines and aqueducts that extend to Monsanto. The clearing known as Terra Grande displays arboreal-shrubby edges and was designed by Francisco Caldeira Cabral, the founder of the Landscape Architecture University Program.