Palacio das Especiarias

Located in the picturesque and noble neighborhood of Chiado, right in the heart of the historic center of Lisbon, the Palácio das Especiarias gives its name to an old building of high architectural beauty. Until the 16th century, spices were highly sought-after by the great European manor houses and the upper bourgeoisie, and extremely rare and expensive. Even for those willing to pay fortunes, they did not always have access to them...It is then that, as a result of the discovery of the sea route to India, by the famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, as well as new territories in Africa, Asia, and Brazil, spices, gold, diamonds and other metals and precious stones started arriving in Lisbon in huge quantities and varieties, transforming the city into one of the main world trade centers of the time. The Palácio das Especiarias, therefore, invites you to a trip to that time, in which its foundations were built, and also one of the main foundations of the globalized world in which we live today - the Age of Discoveries. Between the walls of this old palace that welcomed the Viceroys of the old Portuguese empire in India and in Brazil, traces of a distant past are glimpsed through a decoration alluding to the time, and the unusual presence of illustrious figures of the History of Portugal, which we can meet at certain times of the day...