- Palácio de Mafra
The Palace of Mafra was built between 1717-1755 and is one of the largest royal palaces with 40 000 m^2. - Old priest shoes
The priests surely had some lovely shoes. - The Infirmary
The palace served as a Franciscan friary - it actually started as a modest friary for 13 Capuchin friars... This is the Infirmary for the seriously ill. - The Infirmary
All the beds in the Infirmary faced the altar. - 18th century pharmacy
The ... equipment. - Diana room
The ceiling in Diana room. The King's quarters, obviously. - Throne room
- King's chapel
"He was a carpenter by trade, or at least that's what I'm told..." - King's bedroom
Gondola-inspired bed. For the King. 200 m away from the Queen's bed. - King's bed
- King's bedroom
- Palace corridors
The King's and Queen's quarters were 232 m apart... so, technically, if the floors were completely flat, one could see the curvature of the Earth. - Sala da Benção
In the middle between King's and Queen's apartments, there is the Sala da Benção where they could attend Mass without actually going to the basilica. - Basilica
The view the King and the Queen had during the Mass. - Chamberlain's room
The coat of arms and a bunch of Greek gods. - A chair in Queen's bedroom
Most of the furniture was taken to Brazil when the Royal family fled in 1808, so the palace was later redecorated in the original style. - Queen's bathroom
- Queen's bathroom
- Tassels
- The Yellow room
Also called the Music room or the Reception room. - A billiard table
The Games room - Another ... game?
Another game in the Game room. It might be some sort of early table football but I am not sure. - What a cutie!
In the Hunting room, also called the Trophy room. - Furniture
Well... not my cup of tea at all, but interesting nevertheless. - 18th century tools
Tools from the 1st half of the 18th century: the suspension weights, the monkey, the ratchet, and the wedges. - Giant compasses
These compasses are giant! But than again, you probably need them if you're building such a huuuge thing. - Mundus Subterraneus
Mundus Subterraneus. A book from 1665 by Athanasius Kircher. This page explains the connections of water inside the Earth. The complete book - Regla de las cinco ordenes de architectura
Regla de las cinco ordenes d'architectura de Iacome de Vignola. Giacomo Barocci da Vignola. This spanish edition is from 1702. The complete book - Architecture de Palladio, Divisee en Quatre Livres
Architecture de Palladio, Divisee en Quatre Livres. Andrea Palladio. This french edition is from 1726. The complete book - Perspectivae pictorum atque architectorum
Perspectivae pictorum atque architectorum. Andrea Pozzo. This Latin/German edition is from 1719. The complete book I do have a soft spot for Andrea Pozzo as he was the architect of my hometown's cathedral. - Mafra Library
The famous library has about 36 000 volumes - dating from 14th to 19th century, including the Nuremerg Chronicle from 1493 (The complete book) and the Diderot et d'Alembert Encyclopédie from 1751. - Mafra Library
Fun fact: there are about 500 bats living in the library that eat insects and preserve the books. - Mafra Library
But the books - oh, my! So, so magnificent! - Mafra Library
- The north cloistre
- Saint Jerome
A statue of Saint Hieronymus in the baroque basilica. - Saint Francis Borgia
A statue of Saint Francis Borgia, a great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI. Yeah, pope. - Statue detail
It's just insane, how much detail there is in one single accessory to one of the many statues in such a church. - Mafra Basilica dome
What a wonderful dome.