1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. The Quinta de Regalia, 4 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: a spectacular and unusual estate in Portugal, was a passion 5 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: project for its owner, Antonio Augusto Caravario Montero, and he 6 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: is usually described as this rich eccentria coup chose to 7 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: use his money building his dream home, which he absolutely did. 8 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 1: But he also was an accomplished naturalist, something that's been 9 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: largely ignored until recent years, and he was a philanthropist, 10 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 1: so he seems like an interesting person to talk about. Also, 11 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: heads up, Portuguese is a very difficult language for both 12 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: of us, and compounding that difficulty, minutes ago we recorded 13 00:00:54,760 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: a podcast that was about Spanish speaking people. So we've 14 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: just been seeing very similar looking yes name structures that 15 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:12,919 Speaker 1: are pronounced very differently with Portuguese phonemes. Yeah, Portuguese always 16 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 1: sounds so beautiful when I hear it spoken, and then 17 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: I will try to phonetically say the same things and 18 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,199 Speaker 1: I'm like, well, no, that was painful and ugly. Yeah, 19 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: so bear with us if Portuguese is a leguage you speak. 20 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: We know we're bad at it. Yeah, we're doing our best. 21 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: We are doing our best. Antonio Augusto Carvagio Montero was 22 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 1: born in eighteen forty eight in Rio de Janeiro to 23 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: a very wealthy family. Often Antonio is referred to as 24 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: Montero dos Miliois, with milioice meaning millions, but his father 25 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: also had that nickname before him. This father, Francisco Montero, 26 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: had moved from Lagos Wierra, Portugal, to Brazil when he 27 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: was thirteen to try to avoid the future that his 28 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: family had planned for him, which was the priesthood. Francisco 29 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: married Teresa de Carvallio, whose family had also moved to 30 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:12,679 Speaker 1: Brazil from Portugal, and in the process married into a fortune. 31 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: When Antonio was thirteen, the family moved back to Portugal 32 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: and lived in a few places around Lisbon, including a 33 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: palace which they acquired when the royal who owned it 34 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: went bankrupt. Yeah, there are a lot of very fancy 35 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: domiciles getting put up for auction in this story, which 36 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 1: is a little, to my mind reflective of Portugal's kind 37 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: of waxing and waning of various fortunes and political parties. 38 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: So Antonio got his degree in law in eighteen seventy 39 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: one at the age of twenty two. But he also 40 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: had done a healthy amount of studying in other subjects, 41 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: and he did quite well in them. He was a 42 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: really good scholar. He won honors in his agriculture and 43 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: mineralogy courses, and he learned to speak and write French, German, 44 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: Greek and Latin, so much as one speaks Latin fluently. 45 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: Two years after receiving his law degree, Carvallio Montero married 46 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: Perpetua Augusta Peererra de Medo, and the couple spent the 47 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: early years of their marriage back in Brazil, Andtonio is 48 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 1: said to have made this move so he could make 49 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: an entomological study in South America. In eighteen seventy six, 50 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: they moved back to Lisbon, where he continued his scientific pursuits. 51 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,359 Speaker 1: He joined a number of scientific organizations, including the Royal 52 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: Spanish Society of Natural History, the Zoological Acclimatization Society of Paris, 53 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: and the Geographical Society of Lisbon, among many others. In 54 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty two, he published a paper on Lepidoptera in 55 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: the journal of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences of Lisbon. 56 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: In it, he detailed the discovery of a new butterfly 57 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: found in the mountain range Sara dea Strela. Throughout his life, 58 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: Carvallo Montero used his ample wealth and his scientific knowledge 59 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: to collect all manner of specimens, particularly shells, butterflies and moths. 60 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: He was praised for the quality of his specimen preservation 61 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: of these specimens that he collected personally, but he also 62 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 1: acquired the collections of other entomologists over the years and 63 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: amassed just a huge assortment of species that he kept 64 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: very meticulously. His shell collection totaled more than ten thousand pieces, 65 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: and his work in these fields as a collector and 66 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: cataloger led to his nomination to the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, 67 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: with notes in his recommendation from other scientists that his 68 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 1: efforts had really helped advance the work of others in 69 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: the fields. And in eighteen ninety three Carvio Montero purchased 70 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: a large piece of property in CenTra, Portugal known as 71 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: Quinta de Regalaira CenTra, which is roughly twenty four kilometers 72 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: or fifteen miles northwest of Lisbon had long been the 73 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: summer getaway for wealthy inhabitants of por Chico's capital, and 74 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,160 Speaker 1: over the years it had been called all kinds of 75 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: romantic names. The Romans had called it the Mountain of 76 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: the Moon, and Lord Byron had referred to it as 77 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: an Eden in his poem Child Harold's Pilgrimage, one of 78 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: Lord Byron's least favorite people. Britain's poet laureate Robert Southey 79 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 1: called it quote the most blessed spot on the whole 80 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: inhabitable globe. Cintra is a picturesque place that sits on 81 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:30,799 Speaker 1: a mountain slope on the north face of the CenTra Mountains, 82 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: known and in Portuguese as the Sata da CenTra. The 83 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,719 Speaker 1: property that Antonio bought at Centre has a recorded history 84 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: that goes back to the sixteen hundreds. It had changed 85 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: hands a number of times between the end of the 86 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 1: seventeenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century. In 87 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: sixteen ninety seven, it was purchased by a man named 88 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 1: Jose Leite. Next, in seventeen fifteen it went to auction 89 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: and was bought by Francisco Alberto de Castro, who named 90 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: it Quinta ded Tore. It is also sometimes referred to 91 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 1: as Quitta de Castro. During the time that he owned it, 92 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: Castro updated the property by harnessing water supplies from the 93 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: mountain springs to give Quita de Torre running water. Then 94 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty it passed from the Castro family to 95 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: Manuel Bernardo Lopez, and then ten years after that, in 96 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: eighteen forty, a wealthy heiress Ermelinda Allen, who would become 97 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: the Baroness de Regualaire, purchased the property and eventually renamed it. 98 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: She built a massive home and a chapel there. But 99 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,480 Speaker 1: then once again, at the end of the nineteenth century, 100 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 1: it went up for auction and that's when Antonio went 101 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: after it. And once he had that estate, he also 102 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 1: purchased adjoining parcels of land to expand its footprint. He 103 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: acquired all this land because his plan was to build 104 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:54,279 Speaker 1: a beautiful and impressive estate, including a new palace. He 105 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 1: consulted with an architect named aure Lusseaux on the plans 106 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: for his grand design. Carvio Montero had a clear idea 107 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,479 Speaker 1: of what he wanted and a checklist of needs for 108 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: this estate, and he wanted them all to be built 109 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: in a Portuguese Late Gothic style known as Manuelin. Lusseau 110 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: drew up plans based on all of their meetings over 111 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: the course of eighteen ninety five and eighteen ninety six, 112 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:25,680 Speaker 1: but his work wasn't quite what Antonio had envisioned. The 113 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: two men parted ways, and Carvio Montero sought out a 114 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: different designer. He found his collaborator in an Italian architect 115 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: and designer named Luigi Manini. Manini, who was the same 116 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: age as Cavallo. Montero, had been an opera set designer 117 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: at Teatro la Scala, and he had moved to Lisbon 118 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy nine, and these two men clicked, and 119 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: after Antonio had described his vision to Luigi, the Italian 120 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: designer started translating those ideas into plans which were all approved. 121 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: Coming up, we'll talk about the common belief that this 122 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: entire project was in support of Antonio's involvement with the 123 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: Templar Masons, but first we will pause for a sponsor break. 124 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: It has long been believed that Carvarrio Mantero was very 125 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: interested in the Templar Masons. That is, of course, the 126 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 1: Knights Templar, which began in the twelfth century as a 127 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: group of warriors who served as protection for Christian pilgrims 128 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 1: en route to the Holy Land. This combination religious and 129 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,199 Speaker 1: military force gained a great deal of power and influence 130 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: in Europe, including the favor of the Pope, who decreed 131 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: that the Knights Templar were exempt from taxes. This is 132 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: obviously a very abbreviated story of them, but over time 133 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: the organization became incredibly wealthy and held a lot of 134 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: real estate, and after the Crusades, the Knights Templar ran 135 00:08:57,280 --> 00:08:59,959 Speaker 1: into a variety of problems, including many of their men 136 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: being executed, and they were officially dissolved as an order 137 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 1: in thirteen twelve, once again on order of the Pope, 138 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: but the group persisted in secret, and many rumors of 139 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:15,079 Speaker 1: their activities, holdings, and power have also persisted. For example, 140 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:17,440 Speaker 1: the group is said to possess a number of deeply 141 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: significant religious artifacts, like the Holy Grail and the Shroud 142 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: of Turin, and this has led to the order being included, 143 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: sometimes obliquely, in pop culture references. The Grail Night, for example, 144 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: in Indiana. Jones and the Last Crusade is an indirect reference, 145 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,560 Speaker 1: and the Da Vinci Code and National Treasure also reference them. 146 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 1: The Knights Templar have also been intertwined with Freemasonry in 147 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: various historical theories and ideas, and sometimes they're called the 148 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,679 Speaker 1: Templar Masons, as we mentioned just a moment ago, and 149 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: sometimes in modern parlance. All of these names kind of 150 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 1: get used interchangeably. There are also named variations by region, 151 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 1: and over time. In some discussions of the order, the 152 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 1: concept has and on a less Catholic specific spiritual tone 153 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 1: and one which is inclusive of all Christian denominations and 154 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:11,439 Speaker 1: even non Christians. Additionally, King Denny of Portugal also asked 155 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:15,120 Speaker 1: for papal approval to create his own religious military to 156 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 1: protect the newly formed kingdom that was after the Knights 157 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:21,320 Speaker 1: Templar were dissolved, and it's said that he really used 158 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: his permission to do this to reorg existing Templars that 159 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,560 Speaker 1: were in Portugal into a new group under his leadership. 160 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: So a lot of folks believe that Carvile Mantero was 161 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: the Templar Mason himself, and there are a lot of 162 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: aspects of his grand estate that do seem to back 163 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:41,440 Speaker 1: up that belief. But to be clear, as we're discussing this, 164 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,680 Speaker 1: there's not outright evidence. There's like no piece of paper, 165 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: no letter mentioning interest or membership. I mean a lot 166 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: of times organizations like these were secretive, but you can 167 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,840 Speaker 1: still find some kind of documentation. In this case, there's 168 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 1: lots and lots of imagery and iconography baked into the 169 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: design of his palatial home, and people have interpreted that 170 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: imagery and iconography as being templar Masonic. That brings us 171 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: back to the design and architecture of Quindo di Reglarra. 172 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 1: This piece of land had been a templar property that 173 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 1: had been donated to the Order by King Alfonso Enriquees, 174 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 1: and Carvio Montero knew this history when he bought it 175 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: at that auction. So from eighteen ninety eight to nineteen eleven, 176 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: Manini and Carvalio Mantero worked on this massive project. And 177 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 1: as we just noted, the design of everything that Luigi 178 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 1: Minini created for the estate is full of symbolism and iconography, 179 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:51,319 Speaker 1: and it references both Christian and pagan ideology. For example, 180 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: there are eight pointed stars that incorporate what many believe 181 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 1: to be the templar cross. To create four of the points, 182 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: as well as a central circle. Some history orians have 183 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: interpreted all of this as representing the eight original templars 184 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: and their grand master. Even the layout of the estate 185 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 1: is meant to invoke this idea of ascension, as it 186 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: has multiple levels which kind of lead uphill, intending to 187 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: offer guests and inhabitants this sort of tangible representation in 188 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 1: a walkable way that represents the search for enlightenment. The 189 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:27,960 Speaker 1: gardens contain their own surprises. There's a copse of Scandinavian 190 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:32,040 Speaker 1: serpent trees down one garden path that appears to end 191 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 1: at a boulder, but the boulder is reportedly easily moved 192 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: with a light push. Doing so reveals two doors. This 193 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,960 Speaker 1: leads to the detail of the estate that captures most 194 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:49,199 Speaker 1: people's attentions and imaginations, and that's the initiation well. This 195 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 1: well is actually two wells, although it's usually referred to 196 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:56,280 Speaker 1: with just a singular name, and this structure is not 197 00:12:56,440 --> 00:13:00,319 Speaker 1: designed or intended to collect water, but it's instead built 198 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: for a spiritual journey. It's sometimes called an inverted tower, 199 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:09,640 Speaker 1: which is apt. It has staircases spiraling down the outside 200 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:12,559 Speaker 1: edges of the well, so nine flights of them going 201 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 1: thirty meters into the earth. Each flight is said to 202 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:20,559 Speaker 1: represent one of the nine founders of the Templar order, 203 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: and this inverted tower is believed to have been used 204 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 1: in Templar initiations. So the theory is that initiates would 205 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: be blindfolded and brought to the top of this well 206 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: that Carvarrio Montero had designed, and then they would be 207 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: set upon its downward spiral staircase path. As one of 208 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: these people traversed the nine flights down, he would be 209 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:48,720 Speaker 1: holding a sword close to his chest, and upon reaching 210 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 1: the bottom of the well, the initiate would then enter 211 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: into a dark labyrinth, and then the initiate would have 212 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: to find his way out of the subterranean labyrinth. There 213 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,440 Speaker 1: are multiple paths you can take, and he would have 214 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: to find his way out of them and into the light, 215 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:07,680 Speaker 1: and then proceed to the nearby chapel to officially become 216 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:11,679 Speaker 1: part of the brotherhood. And the chapel, which was redone 217 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,960 Speaker 1: by Manini, like many other places on the estate, includes 218 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: a number of Templar crosses in its decoration, and one 219 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:23,400 Speaker 1: section of the exit of this labyrinth features stepping stones 220 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 1: that lead across a pool of water that is fed 221 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: by a waterfall fountain. It's quite beautiful, but it's said 222 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:31,680 Speaker 1: to represent the steps of Jesus walking on the water. 223 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 1: So this whole process of going down the inverted tower 224 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,320 Speaker 1: and through the labyrinth and then out into the light 225 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: to the chapel is said, like the layout itself to 226 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 1: have represented the passage through darkness into the light of enlightenment. 227 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: But here's the thing, this all sounds super cool. We 228 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 1: don't know for sure if it was ever used in 229 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 1: this way, even if that was what Antonio had intended 230 00:14:55,280 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 1: for it. Yeah, those inverted towers, like they remind me 231 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: of stepwells that have been a method of cooling the 232 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 1: air in very hot places, right, Like that's and I'm like, 233 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 1: maybe this is very if so he went the extra 234 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: distance to make it look really cool and ornate, Yeah, okay. 235 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: In addition to decor elements that are believed to be 236 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: references to the templars, there are also references to the 237 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 1: epic poem Luciids, written by Luis de Camoige and published 238 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: in fifteen seventy two. The narrative begins with the voyage 239 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: of Vasco da Gama and tells the story of Portugal 240 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 1: and its history. The entire design aesthetic incorporates a wide 241 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:50,479 Speaker 1: range of ideology and visual form, always seeming to suggest 242 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 1: a cohesive worldview that offers spiritual insight. In addition to Christian, 243 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: pagan and templar symbology, they are also visual references to 244 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: ancient Egypt and the writings of Dante's Inferno. But the 245 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: features and buildings that Quinta de Regulaira also reflect Carvio 246 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 1: Manterro's love of nature. In some cases there are clear 247 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 1: flights of fancy, as is the case of the Beast Gary, 248 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: which is populated by statues of all kinds of hybrid animals. 249 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,600 Speaker 1: But in other parts of the property there's more practicality, 250 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: like there's a spacious greenhouse constructed so that orchids could 251 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:33,760 Speaker 1: be grown on the property. The Gothic Revival style that's 252 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 1: in play throughout all of the buildings gives them this 253 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: almost fairy tale quality. There are within some of them 254 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:44,160 Speaker 1: quaint murals showing seventeenth century lords and ladies at leisure. 255 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: There are grottos and caves to get lost in. There 256 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: is carved marble absolutely everywhere, and all of this incredible 257 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: architecture is surrounded by four hectares. That's a little less 258 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: than ten acres of land which has been made into 259 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: a massive part with its own gardens and forests and 260 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: lakes and gazebos and walking paths. When you look at 261 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 1: the palace from the front of it, you can see 262 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:10,000 Speaker 1: the chapel, which is very impressive in its own right 263 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,919 Speaker 1: off to the left. But what's more striking is the 264 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,920 Speaker 1: way all of this sits in its own lush landscape. 265 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:20,359 Speaker 1: The palace is positively surrounded by greenery of varying heights, 266 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: to the point that from some angles it almost looks 267 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:25,560 Speaker 1: like it's dripping with plants, although then if you have 268 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:29,680 Speaker 1: the straight on view, the facade looks clean. Luigi Manini 269 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: designed all these spaces in addition to his work on 270 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: the palace and the estate at Cintra. Massive as it was, 271 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:39,880 Speaker 1: was not his only project he had going on at 272 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 1: the time. He was simultaneously working on the South Carlos 273 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:48,640 Speaker 1: National Theater in Lisbon. Some historians suggest that the theatrical 274 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: nature of Quinta de Regualaira is in part due to 275 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 1: the fact that Menini was also really deeply involved in 276 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:58,439 Speaker 1: working on a theater at the same time, but really, 277 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,640 Speaker 1: his resume had already been full of similarly styled projects, 278 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:06,640 Speaker 1: although none of them so grand in scale and opulence 279 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 1: as his work with Carvile Montero. In just a moment, 280 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:12,679 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about some of the other things 281 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,440 Speaker 1: that were happening in Antonio's life besides his palace construction 282 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 1: in the first decade of the nineteen hundreds. But first 283 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:21,760 Speaker 1: we'll hear from the sponsors that keep stuff you missed 284 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:34,679 Speaker 1: in history class going. Although this grand estate we've been 285 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:38,080 Speaker 1: describing is the thing that Carvario Montero is most known 286 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:41,639 Speaker 1: for today, he was in the news for other reasons 287 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 1: and also had additional personal projects going on while it 288 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 1: was being constructed. For example, in February nineteen oh five, 289 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: a story ran in papers in the US and Europe 290 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,719 Speaker 1: about a very unique watch. That story read quote the 291 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: firm of Leroy and Coe, who presented a miniature watch 292 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 1: to Miss Roosevelt, have just finished a still more remarkable watch, 293 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: sold for four thousand dollars. It has two dials, one 294 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 1: showing the time and phases of the moon, the date 295 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: for four hundred years, the months, seasons, solstices, and equinoxes. 296 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:20,919 Speaker 1: There is a chronograph for scientific observations, a reminder of 297 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,040 Speaker 1: the time of winding up, and indications of the means 298 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:28,959 Speaker 1: solar time and equation of time. There is also a thermometer, hygrometer, 299 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:33,680 Speaker 1: aneroid barometer, the hours of sunrise and sunset, the night sky, 300 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 1: or firmament, et cetera. Artistically, the watch is also a masterpiece, 301 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 1: the case representing the fates and time. The watch has 302 00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:46,920 Speaker 1: been made to satisfy Count de Carvalio Montero of Lisbon 303 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:51,680 Speaker 1: and Rio Digenio, Brazil, and has occupied the leisure of m. Juneaude, 304 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 1: the maker for seven years. So that watch, incidentally is real. 305 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 1: It's one that you can today see photographs of. It 306 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,400 Speaker 1: was featured in a number of newspapers in the US 307 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:07,080 Speaker 1: and Europe in nineteen fifty eight, when it became part 308 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 1: of the collection of a museum in Besensent, France, which 309 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:14,439 Speaker 1: sits on the French border with Switzerland. While that watch 310 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: was being worked on, Carvio Montero was also corresponding with 311 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 1: Philagen Weitzmann, a Belgian ornithologist, who wanted the millionaire's help 312 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:28,159 Speaker 1: with something. This actually ties them to our prior episode 313 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:33,880 Speaker 1: on how the European naturalist community learned about the o'capi episode. 314 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,119 Speaker 1: I think is from twenty twenty two. This had just 315 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 1: come to the attention of non Africans a few years 316 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: prior to this exchange of correspondence. In nineteen oh one. 317 00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 1: Weitzmann's writing suggests that an o'copy specimen could be procured 318 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:53,840 Speaker 1: from the Belgian Congo for a zoological museum in Lisbon 319 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,199 Speaker 1: if Carvio Montero were to use his money and influence 320 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:02,040 Speaker 1: to gain the favor of a fish in Congo. And 321 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:04,560 Speaker 1: it seems that Carbio Manterro did try to get a 322 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: specimen for the Lisbon Zoological Society, but that was unsuccessful. 323 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: This is a story which has only come to light 324 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 1: in recent years, and as an article in National Geographic 325 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 1: Portugal from twenty twenty two points out work being done 326 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:25,280 Speaker 1: by the Culture CenTra Foundation to piece together more of 327 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:30,400 Speaker 1: Carbio Materro's story is shifting his historical identity away from 328 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: one of just a wealthy eccentric with little connection to 329 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,879 Speaker 1: reality to just a more nuanced picture that shows his 330 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 1: interests in things like naturalism and entomology. There's a really 331 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: interesting photograph in that article that shows up in another 332 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 1: Portuguese language biography of him, and it's like him in 333 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 1: front of a bunch of entomological tools and equipment, but 334 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: all of the commentary on the picture is always like 335 00:21:57,440 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: you could tell he's rich because nobody had all this stuff. 336 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: So he was definitely leveraging his fortune to help him 337 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: in these pursuits. But he wasn't just like a rich 338 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:14,400 Speaker 1: guy blowing money on weird things. This effort to bring Diocopi, 339 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 1: which was considered an important specimen to Portugal, was not 340 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:21,040 Speaker 1: the only time that Antonio Carvalio Montero used his money 341 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 1: for philanthropy or the betterment of the greater good. He 342 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:28,160 Speaker 1: founded garden spaces, and he worked with others to create 343 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,720 Speaker 1: a fund to offer assistance to tuberculosis patients, as well 344 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:35,119 Speaker 1: as work on ways to fight it. The name Carvalio 345 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,119 Speaker 1: Montero is given to various streets and public spaces in 346 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 1: both Brazil and Portugal, in part because of the philanthropy 347 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:46,040 Speaker 1: that he did. Just as Antonio's house was being completed, 348 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 1: he faced new challenges in his country's shifting politics. He 349 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: had been a devoted supporter of the monarchy, but as 350 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 1: far back as eighteen eighty nine, the monarchy had struggled 351 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:01,760 Speaker 1: with anti monarchy sentiment. This grew over the years that 352 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,200 Speaker 1: followed as the monarchy made decisions that made it appear weak, 353 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:10,280 Speaker 1: like capitulating to demands from Britain that Portuguese colonial holdings 354 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:14,439 Speaker 1: in Africa be handed over to them. Portugal acquiesced to 355 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,800 Speaker 1: this request because it owed its ally Britain a lot 356 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:21,440 Speaker 1: of money. Yeah, this is also we will once again 357 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: caveat like a pretty high level look at what was 358 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: going on in Portugal politically at this time. But anger 359 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: and dissatisfaction with the monarchy continued, and in nineteen oh eight, 360 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,160 Speaker 1: King Carlos the First was assassinated, as was his son 361 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,560 Speaker 1: Louis Philippe. His other son, Manuel the Second became king, 362 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,440 Speaker 1: and he tried to make some changes that would address 363 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 1: some of the people's concerns and alleviate some of the 364 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:50,199 Speaker 1: tension in the country. But people really wanted Portugal to 365 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,760 Speaker 1: just cut its ties with Britain. Most citizens felt that 366 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: Britain had manipulated Portugal and they wanted nothing more to 367 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:01,120 Speaker 1: do with their alliance. Manuel the second his advisers felt 368 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:03,800 Speaker 1: that cutting off their relationship with Britain would weaken the 369 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,439 Speaker 1: country more than fortify it. Plus there was also still 370 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:11,119 Speaker 1: that money problem. The two years after Carlos the First 371 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,520 Speaker 1: was killed were fraught and filled with violence, and ultimately, 372 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 1: Manuel the Second fled to Britain and Portugal was declared 373 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:22,359 Speaker 1: a republic. All of this was presumably difficult for Antonio 374 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:26,439 Speaker 1: Carvio Mantero. We know he continued to believe that the 375 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: monarchy should be reinstated because he was arrested in nineteen 376 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 1: thirteen for suspected involvement in a plot to kill Republican 377 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:40,679 Speaker 1: politician Alfonso Costa Carveo. Mattero was accused of sheltering a 378 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: participant in this plot. This is an accusation that he 379 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: met with absolute outrage. He was openly Royalist, but he 380 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,959 Speaker 1: never admitted to having been involved in the murder plot, 381 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:56,439 Speaker 1: and he was released several weeks after his arrest. Nineteen 382 00:24:56,520 --> 00:25:01,720 Speaker 1: thirteen continued to be difficult for Antonio, though wife Perpetua Augusta, 383 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:04,840 Speaker 1: the mother of his two children, died on Christmas Day 384 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 1: that year, and the next several years of his life 385 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,879 Speaker 1: are not very well documented. We know only that he 386 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:13,639 Speaker 1: lived at his estate during them, and then in the 387 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 1: autumn of nineteen twenty he had a fall, and he 388 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,320 Speaker 1: didn't really recover from it. He died at home on 389 00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:23,680 Speaker 1: October twenty fourth that year. After Antonio died, his heirs 390 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 1: were left with his impressive but odd estate, and they 391 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,440 Speaker 1: reportedly really didn't care for it. They sold his papers 392 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: and his personal effects, and then they left the building vacant. 393 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,159 Speaker 1: Over time, it fell into disrepair, and then in nineteen 394 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:42,320 Speaker 1: forty seven, Carvio Montero's airs were bankrupt. They sold the 395 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:45,879 Speaker 1: property to try to make some money. It was purchased 396 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: by Valdemar Doret and he had it restored. In nineteen 397 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:53,280 Speaker 1: eighty seven, the Quinta de Regallera was once again up 398 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,919 Speaker 1: for sale. The Gothic revival home had been valued by 399 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 1: Sotheby's at three point seven eight million dollar. They also 400 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:03,920 Speaker 1: said that it was priceless, but that was the number 401 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:06,320 Speaker 1: they were willing to put on it, and it's unclear 402 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,479 Speaker 1: how this amount actually compared to the cost of building it, 403 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 1: as Carvaria Monteo never recorded what he had spent on construction, 404 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:17,280 Speaker 1: decor and landscaping, or if he did, those documents were 405 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: no longer available. Most press about the house being for 406 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,600 Speaker 1: sale this time around mentioned that a lot of people 407 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,359 Speaker 1: in the area were hurrying to visit it before it 408 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: might be entirely closed off, so presumably at that time 409 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,960 Speaker 1: the private owners allowed people to visit and walk the grounds. 410 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,360 Speaker 1: At that point, no one was living in the palace itself, 411 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,560 Speaker 1: but a member of the Dore family was living in 412 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:43,760 Speaker 1: what had been the estate's stables, which had been converted 413 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:48,360 Speaker 1: into living quarters. The other thing that the press really 414 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,560 Speaker 1: built up about Carvio Montero's estate was that it was 415 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 1: a spooky, possibly haunted affair. It's written about in ways 416 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: that sound almost similar to all the lore around the 417 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:06,120 Speaker 1: Winchester Mystery House. One write up noted quote behind its 418 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: ornate facade, Regularra reveals an uncommon feast of esoteric symbols, 419 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:15,200 Speaker 1: hidden passages, and secret underground chapels where the rights of 420 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:19,159 Speaker 1: the condemned fourteenth century knights templars were believed to have 421 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 1: been performed. That same ride Up goes Onto lists some 422 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:27,199 Speaker 1: of the odd architectural features of the house. It quotes 423 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 1: Fernando Dorra, one of Aldemar Dorre's heirs. Dorray told journalists 424 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: that he believed that carvill Mantero intended for the house 425 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:39,080 Speaker 1: to be both his paradise on earth and the place 426 00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:41,639 Speaker 1: he would return to after his death, pointing out a 427 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:44,080 Speaker 1: high tower that stands in the middle of the garden 428 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:47,920 Speaker 1: but which has no access points to get in. Locals 429 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:50,720 Speaker 1: had claimed to have seen the ghost of its prior 430 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:54,160 Speaker 1: owner in the tower during full moons. At the time, 431 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,640 Speaker 1: the Doray family mentioned that a Japanese firm was interested 432 00:27:57,680 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 1: in the property and hoped that was who it would 433 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:03,639 Speaker 1: be sold to. That deal did come to pass, but 434 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:07,680 Speaker 1: the fears of the locals were also realized. The Aoki Corporation, 435 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,639 Speaker 1: which was a construction company, closed the site to visitors. 436 00:28:12,359 --> 00:28:15,560 Speaker 1: Aoki may have intended to renovate and reopen the property, 437 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:19,399 Speaker 1: but they never did, likely due to finance issues they 438 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 1: were facing at the time. Yeah, they eat not too 439 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,879 Speaker 1: long after. In the decade that followed, got kind of 440 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:30,080 Speaker 1: subsumed into another big conglomerate because of their finance problems. 441 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:33,800 Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety five, the cultural landscape of CenTra became 442 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO describes the significance of 443 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,760 Speaker 1: this site in part as follows quote. In the nineteenth century, 444 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:46,680 Speaker 1: CenTra became the first center of European Romantic architecture. Ferdinand 445 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 1: the second turned a ruined monastery into a castle, where 446 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: this new sensitivity was displayed in the use of Gothic, Egyptian, 447 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 1: Moorish and Renaissance elements, and in the creation of a 448 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:01,280 Speaker 1: park blending local and exotic species of trees. Other fine 449 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 1: dwellings built along the same lines in the surrounding Seta 450 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 1: created a unique combination of parks and gardens which influenced 451 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:13,520 Speaker 1: the development of landscape architecture throughout Europe. This cultural landscape 452 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:17,280 Speaker 1: is an exceptional mixture of natural and cultural sites within 453 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: a distinct framework. Seen from a distance, it gives the 454 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: impression of an essentially natural landscape that is distinct from 455 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 1: its surroundings, a small chain of forested granite mountains rising 456 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: over the hilly rural landscape. When seen from closer at hand, 457 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:36,520 Speaker 1: the Seta reveals a surprisingly rich cultural evidence, spanning over 458 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: several centuries of Portugal's history, and of course, as part 459 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,480 Speaker 1: of the makeup of CenTra, the Quinta de Regalaira is 460 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 1: part of the World Heritage Site. After the UNESCO listing, 461 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: the CenTra Town Council acquired Quinta di Rigulaira from Aoki 462 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:56,160 Speaker 1: and started its own restoration of the property. In nineteen 463 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:58,600 Speaker 1: ninety eight. It was open to the public and quickly 464 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:03,000 Speaker 1: became a popular tourist destination. Visitors can walk the path 465 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 1: of the initiation well the caves at the bottom are 466 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 1: now illuminated. It's considered by Portugal to be a public 467 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:13,200 Speaker 1: interest property and it's planned to remain open in perpetuity, 468 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:16,040 Speaker 1: charging a small fee to visitors, and people do flock there. 469 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:19,560 Speaker 1: Prior to the start of the COVID nineteen pandemic, the 470 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:23,960 Speaker 1: estate received more than one million visitors a year. We 471 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,160 Speaker 1: don't have numbers that Holly has been able to find 472 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 1: for sort of post twenty nineteen, twenty twenty years, but 473 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,800 Speaker 1: it sure is on my list now. Yeah. Yeah, it's 474 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 1: really pretty. I really really I'm into it. I have 475 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:42,200 Speaker 1: so many thoughts about all of the things, the freemasonry, 476 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:53,240 Speaker 1: the decor, all of it. I also have listener mail. Yeah, 477 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:55,880 Speaker 1: this listener mail is from our listener Erica, and it 478 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 1: is about our VidCon Quizzling episode. Erica writes, I was 479 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 1: ex I did to listen to the episode you did 480 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 1: last week on vidcom Quizzling, even though it's not a 481 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,479 Speaker 1: happy topic, because it connected both to my growing up 482 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,920 Speaker 1: Norwegian American we love stories of Norwegian resistance to the 483 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:15,760 Speaker 1: Nazis and my dissertation which deal with Norwegian American identity 484 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 1: in the United States. One part of my dissertation focused 485 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: on Sons of Norway, a Norwegian American fraternal society. I 486 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:27,040 Speaker 1: got to read through lots of great archival material, including 487 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,200 Speaker 1: a set of amazing pamphlets called Why Sons of Norway. 488 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 1: The nineteen forty two pamphlet had a new section called 489 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:38,280 Speaker 1: History's Blackest Chapter about the Nazi invasion of Norway and 490 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:41,680 Speaker 1: did a lot of work to portray Norwegians as uniformly 491 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 1: hating the Nazis. The author of the pamphlet refused to 492 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 1: mention Quizzling by name, only saying about him quote, what 493 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 1: may be termed a fifth column was a very small group, 494 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:55,400 Speaker 1: which in reality would have been a minor nuisance if 495 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:59,120 Speaker 1: there had been no Nazi invasion. In fact, there may 496 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,320 Speaker 1: not even have been that group if it were not 497 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,640 Speaker 1: for one man, whose name we refrain from mentioning because 498 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:08,640 Speaker 1: that very name has become an international opprobrium. This is 499 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:11,560 Speaker 1: on page three of that pamphlet. It was really interesting 500 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:13,520 Speaker 1: to hear more about Quisling's life, and it was an 501 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 1: interesting chance for me to go back and think about 502 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:19,640 Speaker 1: how Norwegian Americans at least have been invested in keeping 503 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,960 Speaker 1: his story a footnote almost from the very start, thanks 504 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 1: to the wonderful work you do bringing the lesser known 505 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,960 Speaker 1: parts of history to a wide audience. Best Erica, this 506 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: is a very cool piece of information. I do think 507 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:38,160 Speaker 1: this is like one of those great examples of very 508 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:45,719 Speaker 1: carefully selecting narrative information, because what this pamphlet says is 509 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:49,360 Speaker 1: not wrong. There wasn't a lot of support for Quizzling. 510 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:52,000 Speaker 1: That was part of why it all fell apart, but 511 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 1: there was enough that he got in, so it's interesting. 512 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: I super appreciate this little bit of additional perspective on 513 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:03,040 Speaker 1: the whole thing. So thank you, Erica. That sounds amazing 514 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:07,280 Speaker 1: your work in this effort. If you would like to 515 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:10,360 Speaker 1: write to us with interesting tidbits, you can do that, 516 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:13,200 Speaker 1: or even non interesting tidbits, even you know, as we 517 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 1: always say, animal pictures welcome here. You could do that 518 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,120 Speaker 1: at History podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 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