Palácio de Midões

Palácio de Midões, circa XIX century (also known as Palácio das Quatro Estações)

Palácio de Midões is a palace located in the village of Midões, Tabua in Portugal. It was built in the XIX century by Dr. César Ribeiro de Abranches Castelo-Branco (the 2nd Viscount of Midões), the son of Roque Ribeiro de Abranches Castelo-Branco (the 1st Viscount of Midões), the latter who commissioned the neighbouring property known as Solar do Ribeirinho.[1]

Dr. César Ribeiro de Abranches Castelo-Branco, the 2nd Visount of Midões (02-10-1803 - 05-03-1889)

The Palace is also known as the Palace of Four Seasons (or in Portuguese, 'Palácio das Quatro Estações'), represented by the four allegorical sculptures located above the main entrance, each one representing a season Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.[2][3]

Roque Ribeiro de Abranches Castelo Branco, 1.º Visconde de Midões

The Palace is a key historical landmark having housed the noble 'Ribeiro de Branches Castelo-Branco' family, which not only held key political positions in their own right, but also had close ties to the crown and important historical figures such as João Brandão who was elected councillor and fiscal of the county of Midões in 1853 and who was also the godson of Roque Ribeiro de Abranches Castelo-Branco[4], the latter who was bestowed with the noble title of Viscount of Midões a decade earlier in 23 October 1837 by Queen Dona Maria II of Portugal for his role in establishing the revolutionary 'junta' (traditional name of a Portuguese board of council for a district or parish) in Porto. Midões held the central seat of power for Coimbra up to 1853 before its council was dissolved and moved to the neighbouring parish of Tabua[5] and was therefore, with the noble families that lived there, a key strategic and political stronghold at a time when the revolutionary struggles in Portugal was at its height and it was pivotal to have support from the "Queen's Volunteers" ("Voluntários da Rainha" in Portuguese).[6][7]

João Brandão (1825 - 1880). Godson of Roque Ribeiro de Abranches Castelo-Branco.

Sources

  1. ↑ "Casa dos Viscondes de Midões". Arquivo Distrital de Viseu. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "Casa dos Viscondes de Midões - Arquivo Distrital de Viseu - DigitArq". digitarq.advis.arquivos.pt. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  3. ↑ Da Costa Saraiva, José (1986). Monografia de Midoes.
  4. ↑ "A Casa de João Brandão". Geocaching. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Memória de Portuguesa".
  6. ↑ "João Brandão".
  7. ↑ "Viscount of Midões".


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