Description
The Episcopal Palace is of rectangular shape with a courtyard in the middle. The main façade is painted white with three rows of windows and a central portal in dark granite. The frames of the higher row of windows come in different rococo frames. The main portal has a balcony topped by the coat-of-arms of Bishop Rafael de Mendonça, who saw the completion of the building.
Upon entering the palace, the visitor goes through a long vestible that leads to the stairway, which is the highlight of the interior. The monumental stairway, attributed to Nasoni, is composed of a first flight of steps followed by a U-shaped stair. The stairway leads to a baroque portal again with the coat-of-arms of Bishop Mendonça. The whole room is harmoniously decorated with wall paintings and stucco executed between the 18th and the 19th centuries in neoclassical style. In the same century a glass dome was added that provides abundant light to the interior. Other rooms of the palace have less artistic relevance.
Read more about this topic: Episcopal Palace Of Porto
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