Fundaçao Ricardo do Espírito Santo Silva

Frommer's Review

Few other sites in Lisbon offer as comprehensive an overview of the 18th-century Portuguese aesthetic as this one. The setting is the 17th-century Azurara Palace, which was acquired in 1947 by the museum's namesake and benefactor. In 1953, his collection was bequeathed to a private foundation that, after his death, continued to amass hundreds of the country's finest antiques, art objects, silverware, and paintings. These are proudly displayed over four floors of the stately looking building within a labyrinth of rooms and hallways that evoke 18th-century life in a hyper-upscale home. A bookstore and coffee shop are on the premises, and a battalion of attentive guards protect the lavish art objects inside as if they were their own. Anyone interested in the decorative arts in general and the Portuguese Empire in particular will find this collection fascinating.

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