Correio-Mor Palace - History

History

There are records showing the existence of residences in this location, since the 16th century, and that at the end of the century, the family of Gomes de Elvas rented the Quinta da Mata from the monastery of Odivelas. A Jewish family, uncommon for the time, in 1606 King Philip III of Spain bestowed Luís Gomes de Elvas Coronel a noble title, in gratitude for his services to the Crown (during the Iberian Union). At the same time, the monarch altered his surname to in conformity to New Christian requirements, to Gomes da Mata. Simultaneously, he conferred on the nobleman the title of High-Courier (or Postmaster General), which consolidated his importance to the Kingdom's commercial or financial sectors. In this epoch, the buildings of the estate, corresponding to the southern wing were simple structures, until the beginning of the 18th century.

Luís Vitório de Sousa Coutinho da Matta, 9th Correio-Mor moved into the manor in Quinta da Matta in 1730, where the southern wing of the Palace is today located. In 1735, the square/courtyard was reconstructed, taking on its current visible form, by the son, José António da Matta de Sousa Coutinho. The great interventions began in the chapel, whose tower was completed in 1744. These early interventions were terminated ten years later, and consecrated by patriarch D. Tomás de Aleida (owner of the Palace of Santo Antão do Tojal), who died in 1754.

New interventions occurred in the 18th century, just following the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, under the direction of José António da Mata de Sousa Coutinho, 10th Correio-Mor, and concluded in the gardens and farm, between 1765 and 1766, while the palace was completed in 1766, although the interiors were not completed until 1790.

Many of these adaptions and remodelling continued on until 1790, when José António's son, Manuel José da Matta Sousa Coutinho took-up the title of the 11th and last official High Courier. After this, the title was reincorporated by the Crown, and Manuel José received a rent and noble peerage (1st Count of Penafiel), while renting out the estate until 1812.

In 1833, he returned from self-imposed exile (owing to the Napoleonic conflicts), where he yielded the residence to shelter the injured from the Liberal Wars. At the same time, he begin a process of remodeling to improve the spaces, including painting the ceiling in the Sala do Brasão and adding framed paintings over the doors, as well as restoring many of the azulejos in the building.

The marriage of his daughter (in 1859) resulted in the transfer of ownership to her, and her husband, a Brazilian diplomat. By 1871, improvements to the Sala Central (Central Hall) and Sala de Música (Hall of Music), which received stucco decoration, were completed under their stewardship.

The residence remained in the hands of the descendents of the last High-Courier (Manuel José da Matta Sousa Coutinho) and the Counts/Marquesses of Penafiel, who allowed the building to fall into ruin. As a result and owing to financial difficulties, in 1875, the property is sold to Quirino Luís António Louza. His daughter, Filipa Maria Lousa Canha, who was married to José Baptista Canha, contracted craftsmen to complete a few restoration projects. But, following her death, the palace was abandoned and began a slow decline. The last descendent of this family, Assunção Lousa Canha, died in 1961.

In 1966, Miguel Quina acquired the property, initiating a total restoration of the building, creating the Casa Agrícola da Quinta da Matta (Agricultural House of the Matta Estate). As part of this project, in 1967, CIMOBIM Companhia Imobiliária e do Investimento SARL was authorized to proceed with the restoration and reintegration of the palace, under the direction of architects F.G. Berger.

The property was nationalized in 1975. The ongoing restoration work on the palace was interrupted in 1976, with the restoration of the southern and central wings, in addition to the service areas.