SINTRA SUMMER SCHOOL - Leisure and Pleasure in Iberian Court Residences (15th–18th centuries)
Apart from main residences, European royal courts maintained a network of satellite estates designed for leisure and pleasure, serving as pivotal sites for monarchs and their entourages. These historic locations, now iconic tourist destinations, have garnered scholarly interest for their roles in Early Modern diplomacy, social networking, and displays of princely magnificence. Recent research has further explored the organisational aspects of courtly sojourns, the activities undertaken, the social dynamics cultivated, and the sensory experiences of those involved.
The 2025 Sintra Summer School brings together experts who have explored the history of leisure and pleasure within Iberian courts, intersecting their knowledge with the exceptional historic sites where monarchs and their entourages engaged in hunting, banqueting, dancing, and enjoying music, theatre, opera, and stunning gardens. Key sessions will delve into festivities and feasts, music, theatre, dance, equestrian art, falconry, and more. This immersive program, which even includes a workshop to learn court dances, offers participants a unique opportunity to examine and discuss the cultural and spatial dimensions of pleasure and leisure within the palatial settings of Spain and Portugal.
To emphasize the importance of spatial context, these discussions will take place in the National Palaces of Sintra, including the medieval-to-early-modern National Palace of Sintra, the rococo National Palace of Queluz, and the romantic National Palace of Pena. Additionally, participants will enjoy exclusive opportunities to witness equestrian art and falconry with visits to the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art and the Royal Falconry in Salvaterra de Magos.
Join us for this exceptional summer school to explore the vibrant intersections of leisure, pleasure, and courtly life in Iberian history.
Audience
This course is intended for:
- undergraduate and graduate students and doctoral students of history, art history, museology, heritage;
- heritage and museum professionals;
- general public with a specific interest in the topic.
PROGRAMME
(the course will take place in English)
01/09 - National Palace of Sintra
10:00 – Reception and registration (main entrance)
10:30 – Welcoming remarks
- ANTÓNIO NUNES PEREIRA (Parques de Sintra)
- BRUNO A MARTINHO (Parques de Sintra; CHAM / NOVA FCSH-UAç)
11:00 – Session 1: Leisure, Pleasure and Festivities
- BERNARDO GARCÍA GARCÍA (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) | Sharing leisure and celebrations from a distance. Experiences and emotions narrated in the family letters of the Habsburgs
- Johan Verberckmoes (KU Leuven) | 'Screams of laughter': entertainment and good humour in the court
12:30 – Lunch (not included)
14:30 – Visit to the National Palace of Sintra
18:00 – Cocktails
19:30 – End of Day 1
02/09 - National Palace of Sintra
09:15 – Reception (main entrance)
09:30 – Session 2: Music
- TESS KNIGHTON (ICREA) | Singing songs at the court of the catholic monarchs: spaces, performers, listeners
- CRISTINA FERNANDES (INET-md / NOVA FCSH) | Between ceremonial duties and the pleasures of entertainment: musical practices in the royal palaces of Queluz and Salvaterra in the second half of the 18th century
11:00 – Coffee break
11:30 – Session 3: Theatre and Performance
- JOSÉ CAMÕES (CET/FLUL - Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa) | Theatrical entertainment at the Portuguese Court in early 16th-century
- JUDITH FARRÉ VIDAL (CSIC – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) | Courtly leisure, theatre and women's pastimes in 17th century México
- FLORENCE D'ARTOIS (Sorbonne Université – Paris IV) | Embodied politics: dance and festive practices at the courts of the Hispanic Monarchy
13:30 – Lunch (not included)
15:00 – Workshop: Dance
- DIANA CAMPÓO SCHELOTTO (Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco - MUSIKENE) | Introduction to Historical Dance: practice and theory of court dance in early Modern Europe
18:00 – End of Day 2
03/09 - Portuguese School of Equestrian Art (Queluz/Belém) and Royal Falconry (Salvaterra de Magos)
08:45 – Meeting at bus stop at Volta do Duche, Sintra
09:00 – Bus departure to Queluz
09:30 – Visit to the Equestrian Art Library in the National Palace of Queluz
10:20 – Bus departure to Belém
10:45 – Coffee break
11:00 – Visit to the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art in Belém
12:00 – Equestrian Art Show
12:45 – Lunch
14:00 – Bus departure to Salvaterra de Magos
15:30 – Session 4: Hunting
- TIAGO VIÚLA DE FARIA (IEM / NOVA FCSH) | Title to be confirmed
16:00 – Visit to Falcoaria Real in Salvaterra de Magos
18:00 – Bus departure to Sintra
19:15 – End of Day 3
04/09 - National Palace and Gardens of Queluz
09:15 – Reception (main entrance)
09:30 – Session 5: Reading, Writing and Embroidery
- AURELIO VARGAS DÍAZ-TOLEDO (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) | The Court's perspective on Portuguese Chivalric Matters
- NIEVES BARANDA LETURIO (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia) | Lady’s writing at Court: form follows function
- ANA MARÍA ÁGREDA PINO (Universidad de Zaragoza) | “Toda nobleza de oro y seda". El bordado femenino en los espacios cortesanos de la Edad Moderna | "All the nobility of gold and silk": Female embroidery in courtly spaces of the Early Modern period (in Spanish, with written translation in English)
11:30 – Coffee break
12:00 – Session 6: Gardens
- VIRGINIA ALBARRÁN MARTÍN (Patrimonio Nacional) | The role of Nature in the life of Philip V: the royal site of La Granja de San Ildefonso and the drawings made by the king.
- SÓNIA TALHÉ AZAMBUJA (CEABN-InBIO/ISA/ULisboa; FCT/UAlg) | Royal Leisure: Entertainment and Sociability in the Gardens of Quinta de Queluz (18th–19th Centuries)
13:30 – Lunch (not included)
15:30 – Visit to the National Palace and Gardens of Queluz
18:00 – End of Day 4
05/09 - National Palace of Pena
09:15 – Meeting at bus stop at Volta do Duche, Sintra
09:30 – Bus departure to the Park of Pena (Stables)
10:00 – Closing Session: Collecting the Natural World
- FLORIKE EGMOND (Universiteit Leiden) | The luxury of plants at the Habsburg courts of the 16th century
11:00 – Visit to the Park of Pena
- ELSA ISIDRO (Parques de Sintra)
12:30 – Aperitif
13:00 – Wrap-up Session
- BERNARDO GARCÍA GARCÍA (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
- BRUNO A MARTINHO (Parques de Sintra; CHAM / NOVA FCSH-UAç)
13:45 – Lunch (not included)
15:00 – Free visit to the National Palace of Pena
17:00 – End of Day 5