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The Pena National Palace is one of the greatest expressions of the Romanticism applied to the constructed heritage, built in the 19th century in Portugal. King Fernando de Saxe Coburgo-Gotha, who married Queen Mary II in 1836, took the initiative to have this extraordinary National Monument built.
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The Earthquake of 1755, which destroyed Lisbon and all the surrounding area, damaged the Convent of Pena severely. Only the Chapel, in the main altar area, with the magnificent Renaissance carved alabaster and marble retable, ascribed to Nicolas de Chanterenne, remained intact. It was these particular ruins, on the sloped top of the Sintra hill, that enchanted King Fernando; then, in 1838, he decided to acquire the old Convent, the Convent enclosure, the Moorish Castle and other neighbouring farms and woods. Thus he started his romantic dream: to rebuild the old Convent and add to it a new part as a complement of this summer residence of the Royal Portuguese family.
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