António Martim & Mariazinha de Mello (20th century)
António Martim & Mariazinha de Mello (20th century)
António Martim de Mello was responsible for the rehabilitation of the Palácio Ficalho, carried out between 1945 and 1973 through notable conservation works. Maria das Dores (Mariazinha) Eça de Queiroz de Mello was responsible for the most recent design of the garden, and also for the latest study of the family archive, which included the identification of a significant set of documents that had not hitherto been classified.
This intervention in the Palácio Ficalho was undertaken by the couple during the authoritarian regime of Estado Novo. At the dawn of the democratic period, in 1984, the quality of the restoration would be recognised by the Institut International des Châteaux Historiques. In the following decade, António Martim de Mello would prepare, together with the then mayor of Serpa, an application for the classification of the Palácio Ficalho as a national monument. This classification was approved in 2007.
Important dates
- 1945 – Beginning of the rehabilitation works
- 1950s – Beginning of the most recent intervention in the garden
- 1973 – Completion of the rehabilitation works
- 1984 – Recognition of the quality of the restoration by the Institut International des Châteaux Historique
- 1990s – Preparation with the municipality of Serpa of an application for the classification as a national monument
- 2007 – Classification as a national monument
- 2021 – Opening of the Palácio Ficalho to the public
