Parques de Sintra-Monte da Lua (PSML), which manages historic gardens and monuments in the Sintra Cultural Landscape classified area, has begun the restoration of the roofs and the Copa dos Frescos area of Monserrate Palace.

The work will take place until the end of the first quarter of 2027, in an investment of “around €3 million” and aims to ensure “the conservation and stability of the roofs and associated structural elements, as well as the preservation of the exterior walls and constituent elements and the material integrity of the Copa dos Frescos”, explained the company.

“The Copa dos Frescos is, almost jokingly, engineering at the service of conservation and restoration,” PSML’s director of Built Heritage, João Cortês, told Lusa.

Infrastructure problems

The space, under one of the terraces to the south of the palace, has “serious problems in terms of infiltration that, over the years, have compromised” the “metal profiles that support the vaults” and, at the moment, “recovery is completely unfeasible, and the degradation phenomenon is irreversible,” he added.

The technical director explained that the intervention “will require the partial removal of some of the tile panels, the removal of the existing profiles after proper shoring up”, “the installation of new ones, with modern materials that will prevent the phenomenon from happening again, namely stainless steel” and “the reapplication of the same tiles”.

Distinctive material

“So, the only distinctive and new material here, which also contributes to the authenticity of the intervention, is in fact the use of stainless steel,” but the “construction method remains exactly the same,” emphasised João Cortês.

The beams that support the canopy’s vaults are completely rusted and corroded in the space adjacent to the kitchen, while on the surface, the skylight is no longer inserted in a flowerbed to minimise water damage.

“With this type of intervention, which is a little more in-depth and has never been done before, we are now confident and comfortable that we will be able, once and for all, to put an end to the infiltrations in this space,” said the technician.

While regular maintenance work is taking place in a technical area in the access to the canopy, the general intervention includes the rehabilitation of the roof support structures, cleaning, consolidation and restoration of the coatings, and correction of the drainage and waterproofing systems.

Restoration works

The work also includes “the restoration of the stonework and decorative panelling, respecting the original materials and construction techniques”, according to the company.

“Lead brings its challenges, the gutters too, because of their scale and weight, the cast iron gutters will also be quite challenging, so they will have to be completely dismantled, treated and then reassembled,” admitted João Cortês, in addition to the difficulty posed by “reproducing the roof tiles”.

Previously an abandoned place

The property, which had been abandoned for several long periods, was leased by the English merchant Gerard de Visme, who had a neo-Gothic style castle built, and the English writer William Beckford also spent time there before Francis Cook bought it.

The Park and palace were acquired in 1949 by the Portuguese state and, after years of abandonment and plundering, and following UNESCO’s classification of part of the Sintra mountains and town as a World Heritage Site in 1995, management was handed over to PSML in 2000.

The monument will be surrounded by scaffolding and covered during the works, but João Sousa Rego, president of PSML, emphasised that the company is adopting the “open for works methodology”, keeping visitors safe while the work is carried out.

He emphasised that each monument has “a multi-annual strategic maintenance plan” and that work will soon begin on the Royal Chapel of the National Palace of Sintra, which “will also be open to visitors”.