Braganza’s Crown Jewels

Not even Ovid’s lively imagination, especially versed in the topic of metamorphoses, could imagine a palace transformed – almost as if by magic – into a treasure chest. Yet such was the fate in store for the Palácio da Ajuda, built in 1795 in Lisbon to house the riches of the Portuguese Empire following the destruction of the Paço de Ribeiro and the burning down of its replacement. Thanks to interventions by King Luís I, and especially by his wife Maria Pia of Savoy, the palace finally took on its current shape: a refined aristocratic dwelling that gathered all sorts of artworks. Today, it benevolently welcomes anyone wishing to explore its treasures, the most glittering of which may well be the Royal Treasure Museum – indeed, its most gorgeous and astonishing pieces are illustrated in the pages of this volume. On display with a new layout since 2022, the museum houses jewellery, coins and other valuable items belonging to the royal family of Braganza. The volume retraces the history of both the palace itself (with a text by José Alberto Ribeiro) and of the Braganza family, explored in Giuseppe Scaraffia’s text through the lives of its queens.