A retreat for writers, Monserrate attracted numerous international visitors, especially among the British, who praised its beauty in their travel accounts and engravings. When Francis Cook, a rich, 19^th century British industrialist and a great art collector, visited here, he was fascinated. From this passion there emerged a masterpiece of Romanticism: the Park and Palace of Monserrate.

Francis Cook put his dream into practice in transforming Monserrate into what we know today, with its exuberant gardens – capable of amazing visitors with the exotic species sourced from every corner of the world –, and a palace that represents a true ode to romantic architecture, the refined taste of Francis Cook and the genius of its architect James Knowles Jr., who combined various different influences here.