Work on the new museum reserve facilities at the National Palace of Sintra is currently underway

With the aim of centralising the museum reserve of the National Palace of Sintra in a single location, equipped with the necessary conditions for preservation and maintenance, Parques de Sintra is carrying out the rehabilitation and adaptation of the lower floor of the old Stables building. This involves the structural overhaul and reconfiguration of the spaces to adapt them to the new functions.

Currently spread over several areas inside the National Palace of Sintra, the monument's museum reserve, made up of around 14 000 pieces, including collections of ceramics and glass, furniture, textiles, and paintings, will now be brought together in a single space divided into specific areas, making it possible to improve conditions for conservation, research, dissemination and valorisation of this movable heritage. In addition to the rooms for the pieces, there will also be a room equipped with workbenches and trays for conservation and restoration work.

Adjacent to the old Riding Arena (today the car park reserved for the National Republican Guard), the location chosen to house the museum reserve of the National Palace of Sintra is the ground floor of the old Stables building, the upper floor of which is currently occupied by the National Republic Guard. It is a sizeable area, wide and flat, which favours the storage of heavier objects and allows for better circulation. Outside the Palace (and its visitor circuit) and well served by vehicle access, it is ideal for the expeditious handling and transport of items.

From iconographic data, it would appear that the Stables building has stood in this location since the 15th century, having undergone several modifications, with the current configuration dating from the 18th century. In the late 19th century, the spaces of the Stables came to be used by the Royal Guard and, after the establishment of the Republic in 1910, they were ‘temporarily ceded’ to Sintra Town Council to serve as facilities for the National Republican Guard. In the following decades, the most significant alteration was the construction of an extension to the building, with two Gothic-style arches, to accommodate the sanitary facilities on the upper floor.

The project currently underway includes the restoration of the wall, floor and ceiling coverings; the conservation and restoration of the existing elements in the space (elements in wood, stonework and metal); and the revision and adaptation of infrastructure to new functions, namely electricity supply from the general switchboard of the National Palace of Sintra. The infrastructure of the Casa das Telhas, a room located at the back of the Palace which served as a warehouse for the Casa da Cal, will also be overhauled and transformed into a carpentry and building materials warehouse as part of the redefinition of the electricity supply in this area.

The intervention involves setting up construction sites in the yard in front of the National Palace of Sintra, as well as digging trenches to guarantee safety and the necessary reinforcement of the electrical infrastructure. There will be some restrictions on the movement of vehicles and people over the next few months as a result, both in the the Palace Courtyard and in the tunnel.

Budgeted at approximately 650 000 euros, the project is expected to be completed by the end of July 2025.