Quinta da Regaleira – Sintra, Portugal - Atlas Obscura
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Quinta da Regaleira

Sintra, Portugal

This eccentrically decorated palace is replete with grottoes, fountains, tunnels, and caves. 

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The palace's stunning spiral stairway. Mathias Mahling, Instagram user @glory.of.disrepair (used with permission)
Spiral Stairs Hanna Vrielink
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Tower of the house Hanna Vrielink
Detail of the garden Hanna Vrielink
Spiral staircase in the house Hanna Vrielink
Palácio e Quinta da Regaleira Jaszmina Szendrey (Atlas Obscura User)
Rachael Ann Mare
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The Quinta Hanna Vrielink
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Quinta de Regaleira is a UNESCO World Heritage site designed by Carvalho Monteiro.

Italian architect Luigi Manini designed the four-hectare estate with its enigmatic buildings, believed to hide symbols related to alchemy, Masonry, the Knights Templar, and the Rosicrucians. The architecture of the palace evokes Roman, Gothic, Renaissance and Manueline architectural styles. The construction of the current estate commenced in 1904 and most of it was concluded by 1910.

The gardens are incredibly ornate. Set on a hillside, a multitude of fountains, grottoes, statues, caves, and ponds are connected both above ground via lovely paths and by a series of underground tunnels lit today by strings of Christmas lights. The grounds also include a chapel and an aquarium, built to look as if it naturally existed amongst the rock.

follies and grottoes tunnels eccentric homes subterranean sites caves homes ecosystems
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