manors with pool for sale Portugal

Near Borba, in the Alentejo, Quinta do General, a 16th-century estate featuring a mansion designed by Raul Lino. 400 years in the same family. That figure speaks for itself. It simply raises the question of what one gives up when passing on a place like this. Quinta do General dates back to the 16th century. Architect Raul Lino left his mark on the property, expanding the manor house with the precision and sensitivity that characterize his work. The 18th-century private chapel, adorned with azulejos, bears witness to what the great families of the Alentejo built for themselves when they built for eternity. The landscaped gardens, the spacious salons, the nine bedrooms: a setting that four centuries of continuous care have maintained in a condition that few Portuguese estates can claim.

In the Faro hinterland, in Santa Bárbara de Nexe, a villa set on terraced grounds planted with fruit trees. The Algarve has two faces, and most visitors know only one: that of the coast—bustling, lively, and facing the sea. And then there is the hinterland, which Santa Bárbara de Nexe embodies with its terraced hills, almond trees, and a silence that the proximity of Faro never disturbs. This villa belongs to the second side. Built in harmony with the landscape rather than against it, it arranges its gardens, pool, and terraces according to the same logic as the crops that have surrounded it for generations. The sea is visible in the distance. But here, it is the land that speaks first.

In the Alto Alentejo, in Crato, a palace dating from 1905, its cloister and a courtyard covering some 600 m². When the palace was completed in 1905, Portugal still had a king. Five years later, the Republic was proclaimed. The residence, however, has retained the self-assurance of its era – that of a society which built grandly and for the long term. It is best appreciated from the ground floor upwards. At the centre, a cloister opens the house up to the sky and extends into patios, gardens and then a courtyard of around 600 m². A wooden staircase connects the different levels. The reception rooms have retained their high ceilings, parquet floors and fireplaces, whilst six bedrooms occupy the upper floors. At the very top, a vast attic still awaits a purpose. On the ground floor, a self-contained flat retains its own entrance, ideal for those wishing to entertain. Portugal has changed its political system. The palace, however, has not changed its ways.