Paço da Gloria: A House for Dreamers
OPEN HOUSE
An hour North of Porto, at the top of a shrouded hill in the rural parish of Arcos de Valdevez, sits a majestic manor house for dreamers that emerges from the mist at the centre of an otherworldly wood. Passed down through the hands of almost two centuries of anomalous & eclectic owners - this baroque mansion is a place where countless stories of taut political dramas, intriguing endeavours & extravagant social affairs have embedded themselves solidly over time into its granite stone walls that now play host to a new raft of residents & gregarious guests who seek to encapsulate their own dreams within them….step inside Paço da Gloria.
This is Open House, a series that seeks first access to some of Portugal’s most intriguing and inspiring homes. From spaces for sale to private residences, their owners and what motivates them.
To fully embrace a stay at Paço da Gloria, is to embrace its extraordinary evolution. One that begins in the 13th century, when a tower built for strategic defence broke soil on the land. This first brushstroke would become part of a much greater and grander canvas, acting as the first layer around which subsequent visions would be built. One such visionary was Francisco de Araújo é Amorim, who in the 1700s, imagined a Baroque estate around the tower to satisfy the expectations of his new wife’s noble family in nearby Ponte de Lima.
“An extraordinary evoloution…”
Later in the early 20th century, the house came to an eccentric character who inspired many authors of the time, Count of Santa Eulália. inspired by the Gothic Revival movement he peeled back the exterior stucco, exposing the dark granite stone, adding lavish figures & coats of arms to cement Paço’s standing as a confluence for Portugal’s great thinkers. After his death in 1917, his American wife, the widow of the great American hatmaker Stetson, took no interest in the Paço & so it fell into the hands of the state.
…the confluence for Portugal’s great thinkers.”
Through changing political climes, the Englishman Lord Peter Pitt Millward acquired the manor at auction in 1937. Heavily influenced too, by the stylistic influences of the arts - just as his predecessor had been - Peter dedicated many years to renovating & enriching the house with valuable painting, ceramic & sculpture collections. Guests of the house can still peruse a vaulted gallery lined with 14 busts, copies of sculptures existing in Parisian museums such as those of Louis XIV & Cardinal Richelieu.
“…inspired by the decorative arts movement.”
Millward was joined often at Paço by his good friend & British writer Collin Clark (author of My Week with Marilyn) while he imagined a porch, a folly (which is today where guests reside), a beautiful baroque swimming pool & a rose garden that played host to the pair’s exuberant parties over the years. After his death in 1978, the house was passed from Peter to Collin & became a Monument of Public Interest. He opened up the gates to transform the manor into a small hotel - ensuring its legacy could be shared with travelling romantics seeking solace from the thrums of society for years to come.
“…seeking solace from the thrums of society.”
Since 2002 the estate has been owned & deeply cared for by another British family, the Illings, whose presence will continue to darn the intricate artistic tapestry founded here centuries ago. With a deep renovation over the last two years, today Paço’s gothic stone is still strong but it’s also soft. It absorbs the sun like a sponge & it gives it back in a different way. One that eloquently highlights original features such as ornate ironwork & 18th-century arches yet throws shadows over the family's distinctive collection of modern & contemporary art, conjuring further dreams for guests to revel in, within the grounds of this whimsical paradise that is Paço da Gloria.