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Sintra

Sintra is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of 319.23 km2. Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated municipalities of Portugal. A major tourist destination famed for its picturesqueness, the municipality has several historic palaces, castles, scenic beaches, parks and gardens.

The area includes the Sintra-Cascais Nature Park through which the Sintra Mountains run. The historic center of the Vila de Sintra is famous for its 19th-century Romanticist architecture, historic estates and villas, gardens, and royal palaces and castles, which resulted in the classification of the town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sintra's landmarks include the medieval Castle of the Moors, the romanticist Pena National Palace and the Portuguese Renaissance Sintra National Palace.

Sintra is one of the wealthiest municipalities in both Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula as a whole. It is home to one of the largest foreign expatriate communities along the Portuguese Riviera,    and consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Portugal. The ECB Forum on Central Banking, an annual event organised by the European Central Bank, is held in Sintra.

Prehistory to Moorish era
The earliest remnants of human occupation were discovered in Penha Verde: these vestiges testify to an occupation dating to the early Paleolithic. Comparable remnants were discovered in an open-air site in São Pedro de Canaferrim, alongside the chapel of the Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle), dating back to the Neolithic, and include decorated ceramics and microlithic flint utensils from the 5th millennium BC.

Ceramic fragments found locally including many late Chalcolithic vases from the Sintra mountains suggest that between the fourth and third millennia B.C. the region (adjacent to the present village of Sintra) was occupied by a Neolithic/Chalcolithic settlement, with characteristics comparable to fortified settlements in Lisbon and Setúbal. The evidence discovered in Quinta das Sequoias and São Pedro de Canaferrim contrasts dramatically with those remnants discovered in the walled town of Penha Verde and the funerary monument of Bella Vista. Traces of several Bronze Age remains were also discovered in many places in the Sintra Mountains, including alongside the town, in the Monte do Sereno area, and a late Bronze Age settlement within the Moorish Castle dating to the 9th–6th centuries B.C.

The most famous object from this period is the so-called Sintra Collar, a middle Bronze Age gold neck-ring found near the city at the end of the 19th century, which since 1900 has been part of the British Museum's collection. Relatively close by, in Santa Eufémia da Serra, is an Iron Age settlement where artifacts from indigenous tribes and peoples of Mediterranean origins (principally from the Punic period) were also discovered.

These date from the early 4th century B.C., prior to the Romanization of the peninsula, which in the area of Foz do Tejo took place in the middle of the 2nd century B.C. Close proximity to a large commercial centre (Olisipo) founded by the Turduli Oppidani people in the first half of the first millennium B.C., meant that the region of Sintra was influenced by human settlement throughout various epochs, cultures that have left remains in the area to this day. The toponym Sintra derives from the medieval Suntria, and points to an association with radical Indo-European cultures; the word translates as 'bright star' or 'sun', commonly significant in those cultures. Marcus Terentius Varro and Cadizian Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella designated the place "the sacred mountain" and Ptolemy referred to it as the "mountains of the moon". During the Roman occupation of the peninsula, the region of Sintra was part of the vast Civitas Olisiponense which Caesar (around 49 B.C.) or more likely Octavius (around 30 B.C.) granted the status of Municipium Civium Romanorum. The various residents of the region were considered part of the Roman Galeria and in the present village of Sintra there are Roman remains testifying to a Roman presence from the 1st–2nd centuries B.C. to the 5th century A.D. A roadway along the southeast part of the Sintra Mountains and connected to the main road to Olisipo dates from this period. This via followed the route of the current Rua da Ferraria, the Calçada dos Clérigos and the Calçada da Trindade. Following the Roman custom of siting tombs along their roads and near their homes, there is also evidence of inscriptions pertaining to Roman funeral monuments, dating mainly to the 2nd century. The area around the modern town of Sintra, due to its proximity to Olisipo, the ancient name of Lisbon, was always profoundly interconnected with the major settlement, to the point that the Fountain of Armés, a 1st-century fountain in the village of Armés, Terrugem, in Sintra, has been built by Lucius Iulius Maelo Caudicus, an Olisipo flamen, to honour the Roman Emperor Augustus. It was during the Moorish occupation of Sintra (Xintara) that Greco-Latin writers wrote of the explicit occupation of the area of the town centre. A description by the geographer Al-Bacr, described Sintra as "one of the towns that [are] dependent on Lisbon in Al-Andalus, in proximity to the sea", characterizing it as "permanently submersed in a fog that never dissipates".

During the Reconquista (around the 9th century), its principal centre and castle were isolated by Christian armies. Following the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba, the King of León, Alfonso VI received in the spring of 1093, the cities of Santarém, Lisbon and the Castle of Sintra. This followed a period of internal instability within the Muslim taifas of the peninsula, and in particular the decision by the ruler of Taifa of Badajoz, Umar ibn Muhammad al-Mutawakkil who, after hesitating from 1090 to 1091, placed his territory under the suzerainty of Alfonso VI when faced with the threat of the Almoravids. Afonso took the cities and the castle of Sintra between 30 April and 8 May 1093, but shortly after their transfer Sintra and Lisbon were conquered by the Almoravids. Santarém was saved by Henry, who Alfonso VI of León and Castile nominated Count of Portugal in 1096, to replace Raymond of Burgundy.

Kingdom

In July 1109, Count Henry reconquered the Castle of Sintra. This was preceded a year before by an attempt by Prince Sigurd the Crusader, son of Magnus III of Norway, to capture the castle from the Moors in the course of his trek to the Holy Land. Sigurd's forces disembarked at the mouth of the Colares River but failed to take the castle. But it was only after the conquest of Lisbon, in October 1147, by Afonso Henriques (supported by Crusaders), that the castle surrendered definitively to the Christians, in November. It was integrated into Christian dominions along with Almada and Palmela after their surrender. Afonso Henriques established the Church of São Pedro de Canaferrim within the walls of the Moorish Castle to mark his success.

On 9 January 1154, Afonso Henriques signed a foral ("charter") for the town of Sintra, with all its respective regalia. The charter established the municipality of Sintra, whose territory encompassed a large area, eventually divided into four great parishes: São Pedro de Canaferrim (in the castle), São Martinho (in the town of Sintra), Santa Maria and São Miguel (in the ecclesiastical seat of Arrabalde). The early municipal seat, the town of Sintra, was the centre of a significant Sephardic community, with a synagogue and quarter. This community was not limited to Sintra town: enclaves are mentioned during the reign of King Denis in Colares, but were heavily pressured by the influx of Christian serfs. Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries, owing to the fertility of the land, various convents, monasteries and military orders constructed residences, estates, water-mills and vineyards. There are municipal records from this period of a number of donations and grants; between 1157 and 1158, Afonso Henriques donated to the master of the Knights Templar, Gualdim Pais, various houses and estates in the centre of Sintra.

In 1210, the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra acquired four houses in Pocilgais, releasing them in 1230, while in 1264 it controlled homes and vineyards in Almargem. In 1216 the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora (Lisbon) also held a vineyard in Colares and, in 1218, estates in Queluz and Barota. At some time between 1223 and 1245, the Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça held various privileges in the territory. The military Order of Santiago owned an estate in Arrifana in 1260. Many of Afonso Henriques' donations in the 12th century, including privileges assigned to these institutions, were confirmed in 1189 by his son, Sancho I (1185–1211), corresponding to a social, political and economic strategy during the post-Reconquista era. Consequently, after 1261, Sintra had a local administration consisting of an alcalde representing the Crown, and two local judges elected by the public. During the political conflict between King Sancho II (1223–1248) and the Church, the churches of São Pedro and São Martinho, which belonged to the King, were ceded to the Bishop of Lisbon and Sé. Yet the Crown's patrimony was defined early: in 1287, King Denis donated to Queen Elizabeth of Portugal the town, the signeurial holdings and all their associated benefits. Later, these lands were transferred to the young Infante Afonso (later King Afonso IV), and remained in his possession until 1334, before reverting to the ownership of the queen (Casa da Rainha).

The Black Death arrived in Sintra in the 14th century; in 1350, the disease is known to have caused the death of five municipal scribes. Far greater numbers of deaths probably resulted, perhaps owing to the cool climate and humidity, conditions that favoured the rapid spread of the disease.

During the reign of King Ferdinand (1367–1383), Sintra played a part in the controversial marriage of the monarch to Dona Leonor Telles de Menezes. In 1374, the King donated Sintra to the Lady Telles, whom he eventually married in secret in the north of the country. Along with Sintra the King conceded the municipalities of Vila Viçosa, Abrantes and Almada, to the consternation of his private council; following a confrontation the King abandoned his duties and travelled to Sintra, where he remained for a month on the pretext of hunting. As Sintra was located relatively close to Lisbon, many of its people were called to work on projects for the Crown in the capital: in 1373, King Ferdinand decided to wall the city, and requested funds or workers from coastal lands in Almada, Sesimbra, Palmela, Setúbal, Coina, Benavente and Samora Correia, as well as all of Ribatejo, and from the inland areas of Sintra, Cascais, Torres Vedras, Alenquer, Arruda, Atouguia, Lourinhã, Telheiros and Mafra. During the Dynastic Crisis between 1383 and 1385, Sintra joined Leonor Telles in supporting the proclamation of her daughter, Beatrice, who married John I of Castile, as Queen of Portugal and Castile. After the defeat of the Castilian army at Aljubarrota (August 1385) by Portuguese and English troops, commanded by Nuno Álvares Pereira, Sintra became one of the last places to surrender to the Master of Aviz, later King of Portugal (after 1383).

Joanine and Philippine era
John I (1385–1433), first King of the second dynasty, broke the tradition of transferring Sintra to the Casa da Rainha (Queen's property). Probably around 1383, John I granted the lands of Sintra to Count Henrique Manuel de Vilhena, quickly revoking the decision after Henrique took the Infanta's side during the dynastic quarrel. Sintra, therefore, continued as a possession of the King, who expanded the local estate. Until the end of the 17th century, the royal palace constituted one of the principal residences and summer estates of the court: it was from here that John decided to conquer Ceuta (1415); King Afonso V was born and died at the palace (1433–1481); and here King John II (1481–1495) was acclaimed sovereign.

In a document issued in 1435 by King Edward (1433–1438), the region was described as: "A land of good air and water and of the Comarcas with an abundance in the sea and land [...] our most loyal city of Lisbon being so near, and being in it sufficient diversions, and the distractions of the mountains and hunting...".

During the Portuguese Age of Discovery, several people born in Sintra were written into history. In 1443 Gonçalo de Sintra, squire in the House of the Infante Henry, was sent by the prince as captain of a caravel to the coast of Africa. He explored the region near the Ouro River and eventually died there in 1444. Pedro de Sintra and Soeiro da Costa later mapped most of the Atlantic coast of Africa, around the time of Henry's death in 1460.

At the end of the 15th century the importance of Sintra on official itineraries led Queen Eleanor of Viseu (wife of King John II), then principal benefactor of the Portuguese Misericóridas, to expand her principal institutions in Sintra. The Hospital e Gafaria do Espírito Santo, the only remnant of which left standing is a chapel to São Lázaro, was constructed to provide assistance and support to lepers in the region (the chapel still includes the signets of King John, the pelican, and Queen Leonor, the shrimp). In 1545, the hospital was transferred to the administration of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia of Sintra which was set up by Queen Catherine of Austria, wife of John III.

King Manuel I (1495–1521) enjoyed spending his summers in Sintra, due to its cool climate and abundance of game; as Damião de Góis, his chronicler noted: "because it is one of the places in Europe that is cooler, and cheerful for whichever King, Prince or Master to pass their time, because, in addition to its good airs, that cross its mountains, called by the older peoples the promontory of the moon, there is here much hunting of deer and other animals, and overall many and many good trout of many type, and in which in all of Hispania there can be found, and many springs of water...". Between the 15th and 16th century, after travelling to the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon when being considered as heir to the Kingdoms in 1498, the King transformed and enriched the town and its region with several public works. These included the reconstruction of the old Gothic Church of São Martinho and in 1511 the construction of the Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Pena on the highest peak of the Sintra Mountains, which he then transferred to the Order of Saint Jerome. In the second half of the 16th century, Sintra was a centre for courtesans and members of the aristocracy began building estates and farms within the region. In this rural environment, from 1542, the Viceroy of India, D. João de Castro (1500–1548) began residing at Quinta da Penha Verde, where he collected examples of Portuguese culture of the time, including works by celebrated artist Francisco de Holanda. It was during this cultural Renaissance that the marble chancel sculpted between 1529 and 1532 by Nicolau Chanterene for the chapel of the Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Pena was completed, as was the portico of the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Ulgueira (1560).

Luís de Camões (1524–1580) referred to the mountains of Sintra in his Os Lusíadas chronicle, as a mythic land ruled by water nymphs. The Renaissance poet Luisa Sigea—Syntrae Aloisiae Sygeae in Paris (1566) and Madrid (1781) referred to Sintra as a "pleasant valley, between cliffs that rise into the heavens...curved in graceful hills among which one can feel the murmur of the waters...[where] everything, in fact, will enchant and perfume the environment with its fragrance and fruit."

With the death of the Cardinal-King Henry (1578–1580), Philip II of Spain inherited the Kingdom of Portugal, initiating a personal union of the crowns that would last until 1640. During this period, Portuguese political power moved from Sintra to Vila Viçosa, principal centre of the House of Braganza, whose dukes, descendants of John of Portugal, were heirs to the throne of Portugal. Following the decision of the Cortes of Tomar in 1581, Phillip as King of Portugal accepted an administration composed of the Portuguese aristocracy. He passed through Sintra around October 1581, visiting the monasteries and churches. It was during this period that cult of Sebastianism, the hope for the return of King Sebastian, came to an end, when several fake "Sebastians" were denounced. In 1585 Mateus Alvares, born on the island of Terceira in the Azores and guardian of the hermitage of São Julio, passed himself off as King Sebastian and created conflict in Sintra, Madra, Rio de Mouro and Ericeira. The Sebastian adventure ended with the hanging of thirty people and the suffering of many more. It was not surprising, therefore, that the visit in 1619 by King Philip IV of Spain (Philip III of Portugal) resulted in many families escaping to the hills. During this union (1580–1640), Sintra was a privileged place for Portuguese "exiles" from the Castilian court; nobles who wished to distance themselves from Spanish nobility would purchase lands in the region, away from court intrigue. At the time of the Restoration, in 1640, the municipality had approximately 4000 residents.

Brigantine era
The war with Spain (1640–1668), the affirmation of Mafra during the reign of John V of Portugal (1706–1750) through the construction of the Palace-Convent, and later the construction of Royal Palace of Queluz in 1747 during the reigns of Joseph I (1750–1777) and Maria I (1777–1816), helped diminish royal visits to the region. During this time there were only two documented visits: in 1652 and 1654, respectively the visit of Queen Luísa de Gusmão and King John IV (1640–1656), and the final burial of King Afonso VI. Alleging the insanity of the King and the incapacity of the heir, the Duke of Cadaval and the Infante Peter led a coup d'état in 1667 which resulted in the resignation of the Count of Castelo Melhor, Minister of King Afonso VI (1656–1683) and the imprisonment of the monarch. In 1668 the Cortes of Lisbon confirmed the Infante Peter, the king's brother, as regent and heir. Afonso VI lived the rest of his life imprisoned, in the Paço da Ribeira (1667–1669), in the Fortress of Saint John the Baptist in Angra, in the Azores (1669–1674) and in the end, with the discovery of a conspiracy to kill the regent, in the Paço da Vila in Sintra (1674–1683).

From the 17th to the 18th centuries, the region was centre of contemplative religious orders who established convents in Sintra. But it remained a place of myths, with a large, mysterious forest and macabre, gloomy spaces. Father Baião, in his Portugal Cuidadoso (1724) noted: "Next to the Palace of Sintra was a forest, so thick, that during the day, it cast fear in him who entered it. And [King] D. Sebastian was free from these fears, that he would walk at night, through it, many times for two or three hours." Starting in the second half of the 18th century and lasting through the 19th century Sintra became known as a nostalgic and mysterious location described by many foreigners. It was the Romantic Lord Byron's "glorious Eden"; Almeida Garrett's "pleasant resort"; Eça de Queirós's "nest of lovers [where, in] the romantic foliage, the nobles abandoned themselves in the hands of the poets"; or the place where Richard Strauss saw a garden "comparable to Italy, Sicily, Greece or Egypt, a true garden of Klingsor, and there in the heights, a castle of the Holy Grail".

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, meanwhile, caused the destruction of the centre of Sintra as well as a number of deaths, resulting in building and restoration in the second half of the 18th century. Also in the 18th century, the first industrial building was established in the town: the Fábrica de Estamparia de Rio de Mouro (Mouro River Stamping Factory) in 1778.

The visit of Queen Maria I in 1787 brought about the restoration and redecoration of a few salons and chambers in the municipal buildings. The great festivities of 1795 to celebrate the baptism of the Infante António, son of John VI, resulted in grand balls at the Palace of Queluz. In 1838 the King-Consort, Ferdinand II bought the Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Pena and a vast adjacent area, commissioning the architect José de Costa e Silva to construct an arch joining the two quarters of the Seteais Palace (owned by the Marquis of Marialva), to commemorate the 1802 visit of the Prince and Princess of Brazil, John and Carlota Joaquina, and the subsequent visit of their son, the absolutist King Miguel, in 1830.

During the third quarter of the 18th century and practically all of the 19th century, foreign travellers and Portuguese aristocrats, fired by Romanticism, rediscovered the magic of Sintra, especially in its exotic landscapes and climate. Their visits led to the establishment of several hotels, one of which, Lawrence's, opened in 1764, was still functioning in 2018. In the summer of 1787, William Beckford stayed with the Marquis of Marialva, master of the horse for the kingdom, at his residence of Seteais. At the beginning of the 19th century Princess Carlota Joaquina, wife of Prince Regent John, bought the estate and Ramalhão Palace. Between 1791 and 1793, Gerard Devisme constructed a Neo-Gothic mansion on his extensive estate in the Quinta de Monserrate (later known as the Monserrate Palace). Beckford, who remained in Sintra, rented the property from Devisme in 1794. The landscape, covered in fog, also attracted another Englishman, Sir Francis Cook, who occupied the estate, constructing an oriental pavilion.

The Palace of Pena, Sintra's exemplary Portuguese Romantic symbol, was initiated by the King-Consort Ferdinand, husband of Queen Maria II (1834–1853), a German-born member of the House of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha. The palace was built over the remains of the 16th-century monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome, conserving many fundamental aspects, including the church, cloister and a few dependencies. The architecture is eclectic, influenced by many architectural styles, evidence of an era of Romanticism.

The intentional mixture of eclectic styles includes the Neo-Gothic, Neo-Manueline, Neo-Islamic, Neo-Renaissance neo-Islamic, and neo-Manueline styles. Much of this has been evident since a major restoration that was completed prior to 1900.

The design was a project of the Baron von Eschwege and Ferdinand II, to substitute the Sintra National Palace as an alternative to the summer residence in Cascais. After Sintra, the monarchs Louis of Portugal (1861–1889) and Carlos of Portugal (1863–1908) ended their summers with visits to Cascais in the months of September and October.

In 1854, the first contract was signed to construct a rail link between Sintra and Lisbon. A decree signed on 26 June 1855 regulated the contract between the government and Count Claranges Lucotte but was later rescinded in 1861. The connection was finally inaugurated on 2 April 1887.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Sintra was recognized as a summer resort visited by aristocrats and millionaires. Among these, Carvalho Monteiro, owner of a considerable fortune (known as "Monteiro dos Milhões) constructed near the main town, on an estate he bought from the Baroness of Regaleira, a luxurious revivalist palacette, based on a Neo-Manueline architecture.

From the second half of the 19th century into the first decades of the 20th century, Sintra also became a privileged place for artists: musicians such as Viana da Mota; composers such as Alfredo Keil, painters like João Cristino da Silva (author of one of the most celebrated canvases of Portuguese Romantic art, ""), writers such as Eça de Queirós or Ramalho Ortigão, all these people lived, worked or got inspiration from Sintra's landscapes.

Republic

The proclamation of a Portuguese Republic in 1910 transformed the bohemian climate of Sintra. Economic development was now promoted; the potential benefits to the region of growth in agriculture, industry and commerce were promoted to foster development. In 1908 a wine growing zone had been demarcated in Colares. Now a commission was established to monitor the quality of wines and promote their exportation, and in 1914 a commercial association (Associação Comercial e Industrial de Sintra) was set up to manage their concession. Meanwhile, in the name of secular and popular progress, parts of the cultural heritage were destroyed, including the annexes of the medieval village bordering the palace in 1911, while the nave of the Church of the Misericórdia was reduced to the presbytery to allow the road to be widened. The first decades of the 20th century were the time of the fastest urbanization of the town, supported by its rail link to Lisbon and the influx of summer travellers.

During the 1920s damage to culturally important sites led to the creation of institutions to study and protect the vast artistic heritage. The Instituto Histórico de Sintra (Historic Institute of Sintra), under the direction of Afonso de Ornelas, played an important part in this period. Archaeological studies resulted in considerable development: in 1927, Félix Alves Pereira rediscovered the Neolithic settlements of Santa Eufémia, and the first publication of the discoveries at the prehistoric monuments of Praia das Maçãs were completed in 1929. From this time until the 1970s, coastal Sintra was becoming a summer destination, resulting in the building of Portuguese summer residences. Many important Portuguese architects developed projects in the area in the first half of the 20th century, including Raul Lino, Norte Júnior and Tertuliano de Lacerda Marques.

These projects benefited town and region, increased tourism and attracted as residents many notable Portuguese: historian Francisco Costa; writer Ferreira de Castro; sculptor Anjos Teixeira; architects Norte Júnior and Raul Lino; painters Eduardo Viana, Mily Possoz and Vieira da Silva; poet Oliva Guerra; composer and maestro Frederico de Freitas; historians Felix Alves Pereira and João Martins da Silva Marques.

In 1944, prior to his arrest, Vichy France Prime Minister Pierre Laval had planned to move to an estate in Sintra, where a house had been leased for him.

The 1949 municipal plan by De Groer was devised to protect the town and its neighbourhood from uncontrolled urbanization, and resulted in the maintenance of an environment comparable to 19th century Sintra. Urban anarchy predominated until the middle of the 1980s in the areas adjacent to the main town of Sintra, resulting in the development of new neighbourhoods.

Physical geography

The Sintra Mountains, a granite massif ten kilometres long – considered the Monte da Lua (Mountain of the Moon), or Promontorium Lunae by the strong local tradition of astral cults – emerge abruptly between a vast plain to the north and the northern margin of the Tagus River estuary, winding in a serpentine cordillera towards the Atlantic Ocean and Cabo da Roca, the most westerly point of continental Europe.

The São João platform, along the northern flank of the Sintra Mountains, has altitudes between 100 m and 150 m, while the southern part of the mountains, the Cascais platform, is lower: sloping from 150 m to the sea, terminating along the coast, around 30 m above sea level. The spectacular relief results from the east–west orientation of the massif's axis, its terminus at the coast, and the nature of igneous rocks, which are resistant to erosion. The Eruptive Massif of Sintra (MES) is a dome structure, formed by layers of sedimentary rocks (limestones and sandstones) from the Upper Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. A metamorphosed igneous intrusion resulted in a narrow halo of metamorphic rocks, but also strongly deformed these sedimentary layers causing a vertical exposure. While in the south there are enclosed sedimentary layers, to the north (around Praia Grande) the massif is steep. The sedimentary formations, until the beginning of the Upper Cretaceous, are deformed by the intrusion which limits the MES to the end the Cretaceous. Radiometric aging of different rocks from the massif has indicated an age between 80 and 75 million years (confirming the installation of the massive Upper Cretaceous).

The geodynamic conditions that controlled the formation of the MES (correlated with the development of the Sines and Monchique Eruptive Massifs) are associated with the progressive northern expansion of the Atlantic Ocean and the consequent opening of the Bay of Biscay. The Bay of Biscay's expansion resulted in complex tensions responsible for profound fractures in the Earth's crust that were conduits for the ascension of magma. Around 80 million years ago this magma spread across the surface as a superficial crust with a depth of 5 kilometres between sedimentary layers (160 to 9 million years old) that were chemically metamorphosed. Over time the magma chamber cooled and crystallized, resulting in conditions that caused the granular textures that characterize the MES. The weaker sedimentary layers were susceptible to erosion, and their products were deposited around their base. Consequently, the massif likely became exposed during the Paleogenic epoch (30 million years ago), known as the Benfica Complex.

Climate and biome
The Mediterranean climate, influenced by the Atlantic and characterized by moderate temperatures and wet winters, is typical of mainland Portugal. Although the climate in the area of Cabo da Roca is close to semi-arid, the Sintra Mountains are considered moderately humid: precipitation in the mountains is higher than in the surrounding areas. The position of the town in the natural landscape of the Sintra Mountains (consisting of an exuberant natural patrimony), is influenced by the existence of a micro-climate. For different reasons (the climate here has been moderated by the Sintra Mountains; the fertility of the soils; and its relative proximity to the Tagus estuary) the region attracted considerable early settlement. Due to its micro-climate, a huge park has developed full of dense foliage with a rich botanical diversity.

The temperate climate and humidity resulting from proximity to the coast favour the growth of a rich mat of forest including Atlantic and Mediterranean species, marking the transition in Portugal from northern to southern vegetation. The Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) predominates over great expanses of the rocky heights and sheltered slopes. On moist shady slopes, normally facing north, or in sheltered places, the common oak (Quercus robur) is widespread. In lowland areas and warm places the cork oak (Quercus suber) is common and in limestone areas the Portuguese oak (Quercus faginea) is found. Other species scattered throughout the mountains of Sintra include: maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), common hazel (Corylus avellana), common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), European holly (Ilex aquifolium), Portuguese laurel (Prunus lusitanica), Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), laurestine (Viburnum tinus), Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera), and Italian buckthorn (Rhamnus alaternus). In the valleys, near watercourses, grow narrow-leaf ash (Fraxinus angustifolia), Grey willow (Salix atrocinerea), European alder (Alnus glutinosa), alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) and black elderberry (Sambucus nigra).

Since 1966, the Sintra Mountains have been affected by fires that have destroyed a major part of the original forest, which has been substituted by acacia and other fast-growing exotic species. The forested area of the Sintra mountains is about 5000 ha, of which 26% (1300 ha) is maintained by the State through the Direcção Geral de Florestas – Núcleo Florestal de Sintra (General Directorate of Forests – Sintra Forestry Service).

Human geography
The municipality is administered by 11 civil parish (freguesias) councils, with local authority to administer services and provide local governance, which are:

 * Agualva e Mira-Sintra
 * Algueirão–Mem Martins
 * Almargem do Bispo, Pêro Pinheiro e Montelavar
 * Cacém e São Marcos
 * Casal de Cambra
 * Colares
 * Massamá e Monte Abraão
 * Queluz e Belas
 * Rio de Mouro
 * São João das Lampas e Terrugem
 * Sintra (Santa Maria e São Miguel, São Martinho e São Pedro de Penaferrim)

Sintra also has numerous hamlets and villages, including the affluent village of Linhó, Sintra.

Sintra's population grew considerably in the late 20th century, rising from about 14% of the Lisbon region to 19%, with the main concentration of resident population found in the important Queluz-Portela corridor, along the southeast corner of the municipality. In this area were concentrated approximately 82% of the municipality's population, the most attractive parishes to live in being São Pedro de Penaferrim, Rio de Mouro, Belas and Algueirão-Mem Martins.

With the decrease in mortality rates, the region has undergone a general increase in infant births, primarily associated with late births, but also an increase in seniors in the community (56.5% in 2001). Yet Sintra is still considered to have a structurally young population, the youngest in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon. Young adults (30- to 39-year-olds) dominate Sintra's communities, with the parishes of Pêro Pinheiro, Terrugem, São Martinho, São João das Lampas, Santa Maria e São Miguel, Montelavar, Colares, Queluz and Almargem do Bispo all having higher rates of seniors in the population. Approximately 80% of the population are born outside the town, 21% of these being foreign born residents. While the resident population in Lisbon has seen a gentle decrease since the mid-1960s, Sintra has grown comparably.

Urban areas represent 55.4 km2 of the municipality, or approximately 17.4% of Sintra's territory; 35% of the population reside in places of between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants. Many of these areas are anchored to lines of access, in particular, the Sintra Line and the IC19 motorway which connects the principal towns of Queluz, Agualva-Cacém, Algueirão/Mem Martins, Rio de Mouro and Belas). Many of these urban areas are composed of a fabric of building projects that have historically resulted in dense buildings of concrete, normally seven or more floors in height. The greatest growth in residential homes has occurred in the south of the municipality, in the triangle of São Pedro de Penaferrim, Santa Maria e São Miguel and Casal de Cambra. In addition, there is a major concentration and growth in family dwellings of a seasonal nature, or second homes, in this region, and a proliferation of illegal construction in the parishes of São João das Lampas, São Pedro de Penaferrim, Belas, Agualva-Cacém and Casal de Cambra.

Economy

The growth in tertiary activities has played an important part in the pattern of employment in the region, with commercial, retail and support services predominating. This has been to the detriment of industry, although continuing industrial activities include the transport of materials, mineral processing, the manufacture of machinery and equipment, food-processing, beverage and tobacco companies as well as publishing and printing services. There has also been a dramatic growth in the civil construction industry.

EuroAtlantic Airways has its head office in Sintra.

Tourism is also significant, with the parks and monuments operated by the Parques de Sintra accounting for 3.2 million visitors in 2017, for example.

Transport
Lisbon's commuter railway network (CP Urban Services) provides direct services to Sintra Station. The journey to Lisbon takes 35–45 minutes. There is alternative transport, taxis, car-sharing services and buses, covering a large area of the district.

The Sintra tramway links Sintra with the Atlantic coast at Praia das Maçãs, providing a beautiful scenic ride along the way and covering a distance of some 11.5 km., the heritage line runs Wednesday to Sunday in summer months.

Tourist bus 434 takes visitors between attractions in Sintra. The bus follows a one-way route and stops at Sintra Station, São Pedro de Sintra, the Castle of the Moors, Pena National Palace, Sintra Old Town and returns to Sintra Station.

Landmarks
Sintra has a great number of preserved or classified architectural buildings:

Prehistoric

 * Barreira Megalithic Complex
 * Dolmen of Adrenunes (Anta de Adrenunes)
 * Dolmen of Agualva (Anta de Agualva/Anta do Carrascal)
 * Dolmen of Estria (Anta da Estria)
 * Dolmen of Monte Abraão (Anta do Monte Abraão)
 * Praia das Maçãs Prehistoric Monument (Monumento Pré-Histórico de Praia das Maçãs)
 * Tholos tomb of Monge (Tholos do Monge)

Civic

 * Aguas Livres Aqueduct-Sintra Line (Aqueduto das Águas Livres-Troço de Sintra)
 * Chalet and Garden of the Countess of Edla
 * Estate of Penha Verde (Quinta de Penha Verde/Quinta da Fonte del Rei)
 * Mansion of Penha Verde (Solar da Quinta de Penha Verde)
 * National Palace of Pena (Palácio Nacional da Pena)
 * National Palace of Queluz (Palácio Nacional de Queluz)
 * National Palace of Sintra (Palácio Nacional de Sintra/Palácio da Vila)
 * Palacette of the Counts of Almeida-Araújo (Palácio Pombal/Palacete dos Condos de Almeida Araújo)
 * Pillory of Colares (Pelourinho de Colares)
 * Quinta da Regaleira including the palace and the chapel
 * Quinta da Ribafria
 * Monserrate Palace
 * Seteais Palace
 * Ramalhão Palace

Culture

 * The Puppet House of Sintra (Casa da Marioneta de Sintra)
 * Valdevinos Cultural Association (Valdevinos Associação Cultural)

Military

 * Castle of the Moors (Castelo dos Mouros)

Religious

 * Church of Santa Maria (Igreja Paroquial de Santa Maria)
 * Convent of Penha Longa (Convento de Penha Longa)
 * Convento dos Capuchos

Sports
The municipality of Sintra has several sports venues and a wide range of sports facilities for the practice of sports like tennis, golf, swimming, surfing, and equestrianism.

The most reputed competitive sports clubs of Sintra Municipality are:
 * Sport União Sintrense, a club established on 7 October 1911 that compete in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth lay tier of Portuguese football
 * C.A. Queluz, basketball team based in Queluz
 * Hockey Club de Sintra, sports club that compete in roller hockey and cycling, being also noted for its artistic roller skating department.
 * Clube Desportivo de Belas, sports club located in Queluz e Belas
 * Belas Rugby Clube, rugby union team from Queluz e Belas

In popular culture

 * Much of the miniseries Gulliver's Travels (1996) was filmed in Sintra, and many of its palaces are shown.
 * Opel Sintra, a large MPV produced under the German marque Opel for the market in Europe, which was sold in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Sintra between 1996 and 1999 by Vauxhall, has a name that was chosen by a computer from a list of short, easy to pronounce words and not after the historic Portuguese town of Sintra.
 * In 2018, a board game by German game designer Michael Kiesling, Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra, was named after the town of Sintra.

Twin towns – sister cities
Sintra is twinned with:

 * 🇲🇦 Assilah, Morocco
 * 🇲🇿 Beira, Mozambique
 * 🇬🇼 Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
 * 🇫🇷 Fontainebleau, France
 * 🇫🇷 Goussainville, France
 * 🇨🇺 Havana, Cuba
 * 🇺🇸 Honolulu, United States
 * 🇲🇦 El Jadida, Morocco
 * 🇦🇴 Lobito, Angola
 * 🇲🇿 Namaacha, Mozambique
 * 🇨🇻 Nova Sintra, Cape Verde
 * 🇯🇵 Omura, Japan
 * 🇪🇸 Oviedo, Spain
 * 🇧🇷 Petrópolis, Brazil
 * 🇸🇹 Trindade, São Tomé and Príncipe

Notable people

 * King Afonso V (1432–1481) known by the sobriquet the African, a King of Portugal.
 * André de Albuquerque Ribafria (1621–1659), a Portuguese nobleman and military leader.
 * Infanta Maria Francisca (1800 in Queluz – 1834), a Portuguese infanta (princess), daughter of King John VI of Portugal
 * Vasco Gonçalves (1921–2005), a Portuguese army officer, participant in the Carnation Revolution, 104th Prime Minister of Portugal, 1974–1975.
 * Jorge de Brito (1927 in Queluz – 2006), a businessman & 28th president of S.L. Benfica
 * Clotilde Rosa (1930 in Queluz – 2017), a Portuguese harpist, pedagogue and composer.
 * Ruy Belo (1933 – 1978 in Queluz), a Portuguese poet, essayist and existentialist
 * Vasco Martins (born 1956 in Queluz), a Cape Verdean musician and composer
 * Manuela Bravo (born 1957 in Queluz), singer, sang in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979
 * Isabel Stilwell (born 1960), a Portuguese journalist and writer.
 * Peter Kember (born 1965), stage name Sonic Boom, an English singer and record producer
 * Zé Cabra (born 1965), a former painter and comedy-singer
 * Miguel Ribeiro (born 1974) is a Portuguese screenwriter and filmmaker.

Sport

 * Luis Loureiro (born 1976), a former footballer with 295 club caps and 6 for Portugal
 * Ricardo Silva (born 1977 in Agualva-Cacém), a former footballer with 293 caps
 * Marco Caneira (born 1979), a footballer with 326 club caps and 25 for Portugal
 * Bruno Coelho (born 1987), a futsal player with 146 club caps for Benfica and 102 for Portugal
 * Dolores Silva (born 1991 in Queluz), a footballer with 123 caps for the Portugal women's national football team

title: Sintra


text:
Vincent, Count Benedetti

Vincent, Count Benedetti (29 April 1817 – 28 March 1900) was a French diplomat. He is probably best known as one of the central figures in the instigation of the Franco-Prussian War through his role in the Ems Dispatch.

Life and career
Benedetti was born to a family of Greek origin at Bastia, on the island of Corsica. In 1840, he entered the service of the French foreign office and was appointed to a post under the Marquis de la Valette, who was consul-general at Cairo. He spent eight years in Egypt, being appointed consul in 1845. Whilst in Egypt, Benedetti met and eventually married a Greek slave woman who was a survivor of the Massacre of Chios. In 1848, he was made consul at Palermo, and in 1851, he accompanied the marquis, who had been appointed ambassador at Constantinople, as first secretary.

For fifteen months during the progress of the Crimean War, Benedetti acted as chargé d'affaires. In the second volume of his essays, he gives some recollections of his experiences in the East, including an account of Mehemet Ali, and a (not very friendly) sketch of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe. In 1855, after refusing the post of minister at Tehran, he was employed in the foreign office at Paris, and acted as secretary to the congress at Paris (1855–1856). During the next few years, he was chiefly occupied with Italian affairs, in which he was much interested, and Cavour said of him that he was an Italian at heart. He was chosen in 1861 to be the first envoy of France to the king of Italy, but he resigned his post the next year on the retirement of Édouard de Thouvenel, who had been his patron, when the anti-Italian party began to gain the ascendancy at Paris. In 1864, he was appointed ambassador at the court of Prussia.

Benedetti remained in Berlin until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, and during these years, he played an important part in the diplomatic history of Europe. His position was a difficult one, for Napoleon III did not keep him fully informed as to the course of French policy. In 1866, the Austro-Prussian War broke out, and during the critical weeks which followed the attempt of Napoleon to intervene between Prussia and Austria, he accompanied the Prussian headquarters in the advance on Vienna. During a visit to Vienna, he helped to arrange the preliminaries of the armistice signed at Nikolsburg.

Following the end of the Austro-Prussian War, Benedetti was instructed to present to Bismarck the French demands for "compensation" for France's neutrality during the Austro-Prussian War - Prussian agreement for a French annexation of Belgium and Luxembourg. In August, after his return to Berlin, as a result of his discussions with Bismarck, a draft treaty was drawn up, in which Prussia promised France her support in the annexation of Belgium. This treaty was never concluded, but the draft, which was in Benedetti's handwriting, was kept by Bismarck and, in 1870, a few days after the outbreak of the war, was published by him in The Times.

During 1867, Benedetti was much occupied with the affair of Luxembourg, in which France attempted to purchase Luxembourg from the Netherlands. There was an immediate uproar in Germany from pan-German nationalists, and the pre-eminent German power (Prussia) seemed poised to declare war on France over the issue. The French government however was thwarted by the subsequent Conference of London, which confirmed the independence of Luxembourg, along with a guarantee of Luxembourg's independence by all European Great Powers.

In July 1870, when the candidature of the prince of Hohenzollern for the throne of Spain became known, Benedetti was instructed by the duc de Gramont to present to the king of Prussia, who was then at Bad Ems, the French demands, that the king should order the prince to withdraw, and afterwards that the king should promise that the candidature would never be renewed. This last demand Benedetti submitted to the king in informal meetings on the promenade at Ems, and Bismarck's publication of the conversations gave the impression that Benedetti had approached the king in an undiplomatic way and that the king had reacted evenly inappropriately. The emotions stirred up by the incident and Bismarck's publication paved the way to the Franco-Prussian War which followed. Benedetti was severely attacked in his own country for his conduct as ambassador, and the duc de Gramont attempted to throw upon him the blame for the failures of French diplomacy.

Benedetti answered the charges brought against him in a book, Ma Mission en Prusse (Paris, 1871), which still remains one of the most valuable authorities for the study of Bismarck's diplomacy. In this, Benedetti successfully defends himself, and shows that he had kept his government well informed; he had even warned them a year before as to the proposed Hohenzollern candidature. Even if he had been outwitted by Bismarck in the matter of the treaty of 1866, the policy of the treaty was not his, but was that of E. Drouyn de Lhuys. The idea of the annexation of Wallonia, Belgium, to France had been suggested to him first by Bismarck; and the use to which Bismarck put the draft was not one which he could be expected to anticipate, for he had carried on the negotiations in good faith.

After the fall of the Empire, Benedetti retired to Corsica. He lived to see his defence confirmed by later publications, which threw more light on the secret history of the times. He published in 1895 a volume of Essais diplomatiques, containing a full account of his mission to Ems, written in 1873; and in 1897 a second series dealing with the Eastern question. He died on 28 March 1900, while on a visit to Paris. He received the title of Count from Napoleon.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Vincent, Count Benedetti


text:
User:Marumari

Disclaimer
Although I am one of Wikipedia's admins, anything I post is strictly on my own behalf. I am not an employee of Bomis and I do not officially represent either that company or the Wikipedia project. If I tell you to do something or not do something, it's just friendly advice, not an order from on high.

Personal info
Hello, my name is April King. I'm the head of website security at Mozilla, and I do a lot of writing about TLS and web security.

Name origin
Marumari (丸鞠) is Japanese for "round ball". I originally heard the term in Metroid, and I've used it since, although I don't really associate the name with the game anymore. It just rolls off the tongue nicely.

Contributions
Articles I have majorly contributed to (italics indicate that I am [or was] the primary writer of the article):

Major projects: Dead external links (an attempt to fix the problem of linkrot inside of Wikipedia.)

Psychology contributions:  Alogia, Anhedonia, Anorexia nervosa, Avolition, Comorbidity, Emetic/Antiemetic, Malingering, Mood-congruent/incongruent, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Personality disorder, Primary/Secondary gain, Psychoactive

Animalia contributions:  Banded Orange Heliconian Butterfly, Cat, Chinchilla, Dog, Gerbil, Hamster, Rat, Rabbit (especially European Rabbit), Squirrel

Other contributions:  Caramel deLites, Japanese Language Proficiency Test, Minnesota RollerGirls, Nim, Roller derby, Wikitext Rendering Quirks

Other (relatively minor) contributions:  Afro Celt Sound System, Autumnal equinox, Concrete dome, Earth, Gope Boards, Japanese language, Languages in the United States, Moon, SARS, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Vernal equinox

Photography
Deprecated photographs: Minneapolis Public Library (as under construction)

ja:利用者:丸鞠

title: User:Marumari


text:
Estoril

Estoril is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has hosted a number of high-profile events, such as the Estoril Open and the Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival.

Estoril is one of the most expensive places to live in Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula. It is home to a sizable foreign community and known for its luxury restaurants, hotels, and entertainment. Cascais is consistently ranked for its high quality of living, making it one of the most livable places in Portugal.

Etymology
Estoril may derive from the Old Portuguese estorga (heather) - a common plant in the area – with the final meaning of "place where heather grows or is abundant", or from the Old Portuguese astor (Northern goshawk), meaning a place where such birds live.

History
The territory of Estoril has been inhabited for centuries, owing to its climatic conditions and favourable environment. Throughout the civil parish there are scattered remains of these early communities — Phoenicians, Romans and Arabs selected this area for its strategic place in Western Europe. There are remains of Roman villas in the parish that push back the history of the region to the first millennium, when the settlements of the coast were dependent on the fishing ports. From these settlements, Estoril inherited a rich cultural heritage, architecture, toponymy, habits and customs.

In 1147, during the Reconquista, the region was brought under Christian control.

Owing to its strategic location, the region was intimately linked to the Portuguese Age of Discovery and all the dynamic social and cultural upheavals that it originated.

Its solid fortifications are a testament to the innumerable attacks by Spanish, French and English pirates and privateers. The many forts that dot the coastline are symbols of the resistance and battles that secured Portuguese independence and national interests.

At the end of the monarchy, it was in the waters of Estoril that many sought refuge and escape. Aristocrats, nobles and others escaped through the ports along the Estoril coast to flee from the Republican forces.

In the hilltop enclave of Monte Estoril (situated between Estoril and Cascais), is the Verdades-Faria Museum, built in 1917 by Jorge O'Neil. In 1942, the building was bought by Mantero Belard and dedicated to the support of the arts and artists. Following his death, the building was donated to Cascais Council under the name of Verdades Faria and now houses the regional Museum of Portuguese Music.

During the Second World War, the region was a centre of spies and diplomatic secrecy, situations that provided the region with a cosmopolitan atmosphere and sophistication. Due to the vision of Fausto Cardoso de Figueiredo and his business partner Augusto Carreira de Sousa, it became an international tourist destination both during and after the Second World War.

During that time, several dignitaries and exiles came to Estoril: Miklós Horthy, the regent of Hungary (lived and died in exile after the Second World War); the Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona (father of Juan Carlos I of Spain) and the King resided in the territory, as did Umberto II of Italy and Carol II of Romania. Former King Edward VIII the Duke of Windsor, briefly resided in an Estoril villa as more direct and reliably safe routes to London from France for his escape were cut off by Blitzkrieg during the invasion.

It was also in this location that former Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar had a summer house. It was Salazar who ordered the construction of the E.N.6 motorway, more commonly referred to as the Avenida Marginal, in order for him to quickly travel by car between Cascais and Lisbon (until then the accessway was nothing more than a dirt road, where traffic could only circulate at low speed and make frequent stops). The roadway permitted the dictator to travel rapidly, and with fewer stops, it wasn't possible for him to be recognized easily in transit.

The 4th World Chess Champion Alexander Alekhine died in Estoril in 1946 under unknown circumstances.

The engineer John Tojeiro was born in Estoril.

Geography
The Estoril coast is relatively close to Lisbon, the Portuguese capital; it extends from Carcavelos, 15 km from the capital, and stretches as far as the beach of Guincho (sometimes referred colloquially as the Costa de Estoril-Sintra or Costa de Lisboa). Estoril includes several smaller boroughs and localities along the coastline, namely (from east to west): São Pedro do Estoril, São João do Estoril, Santo António do Estoril (or simply Estoril) and Monte Estoril, as well as other to the interior.

Estoril is popularly recognized for the Casino Estoril, widely regarded as Europe's largest casino.

Culture
The Museum of Portuguese Music- Casa Verdades de Faria hosts an important collection of musical instruments related to popular music, assembled by Michel Giacometti.

Christine McVie, from the band Fleetwood Mac, wrote a song called "Nights in Estoril" for their album Time.

Serbian-Portuguese author Dejan Tiago Stankovic published Estoril, a war novel in 2016, about Estoril during World War II.

Sport
The major local sports club is the Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia.

Motorsport events are frequent at the Estoril Circuit, although Formula One is no longer on the circuit's calendar. This was due to the circuit not coming up to FIA safety standards, leading to the 1997 event being canceled. Following a review on safety, Estoril was reshaped in 1999, the first two corners being affected the most. Today's circuit is 4.183 km in length and is run in a clockwise fashion. The circuit also used to host MotoGP, among other lower formula events.

Estoril Open is a tennis tournament within the ATP World Tour.

Education
There are numerous education opportunities in and near Estoril, including a number of private schools for expats. The German community hosts a kindergarten and elementary school campus of the German School of Lisbon. True to the high-end living in the area, there are schools for tennis, art , and intensive academic training from age five through college. There are dozens of schools in the area. Most appear to be private, though six of the public schools can be reviewed at Agrupamento de Escolas de Parede.

Notable people

 * Eba Viegas (born 1999), Portuguese footballer
 * King Carol II of Romania lived in Estoril after abdication.
 * Miklos Horthy (born 1868) lived here until his death after exile from Hungary.
 * Fulgencio Batista (1901-1973) Cuban dictator, lived in Estoril briefly before dying.

title: Estoril


text:
Casino Estoril

The Estoril Casino (Casino do Estoril) is a casino in the Portuguese Riviera, in the municipality of Cascais, Portugal. Today, it is one of the biggest working casinos in Europe.

History
The first stone was laid on 16 January 1916 by then-President Dr. Bernardino Machado, a venture of Fausto Figueiredo.

During the Second World War, it was reputed to be a gathering point for spies, dispossessed royals, and wartime adventurers; it became an inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 novel Casino Royale.

The casino passed into the hands of José Teodoro dos Santos in 1958. During the 1960s, the primitive building was expanded, under the direction of Filipe Nobre de Figueiredo and José Segurado, accompanied by the civil engineer Manuel Agostinho Duarte Gaspar, and was decorated by Daciano da Costa and José Espinho.

Following the death of José Teodoro dos Santos in 1987, the concession was headed by a consortium of family members, that included his widow (Marcelina Teodoro dos Santos), his son (Jorge Teodoro dos Santos) and his daughter (D. Maria Emilia Teodoro dos Santos Telles). The presidency of the administrative council was headed by Santos' son-in-law Dr. Manuel Joaquim Telles, co-adjunct of Grupo Estoril-Sol's administration (also managed Estoril-Sol 5-star hotel). The administration of Estoril-Sol also included his children (Dr. José Telles and Dr. Jorge Telles), Henrique Rosa Santos, his mother (D. Henriqueta Santos) and his sister (D. Ana Maria Santos). After 1987, majority interest was obtained by Stanley Ho, and began to be administered by Mário Assis Ferreira.

Architecture
The modernist architecture is situated in the coastal area of Estoril, in the municipality of Cascais, situated 18 km from the southwest of Lisbon.

title: Casino Estoril


text:
Eugène Rouher

Eugène Rouher (30 November 1814 – 3 February 1884) was a French statesman of the Second Empire.

He was born at Riom (Puy-de-Dôme), where he practised law after taking his degree in Paris in 1835. In 1846 he sought election to the Chamber of Deputies as an official candidate of the Guizot ministry. It was only after the Revolution of 1848, however, that he became deputy for the department of Puy-de-Dôme. Re-elected to the Legislative Chamber in 1849 he succeeded Odilon Barrot as minister of justice, with the additional office of keeper of the seals (20 December 1848 to 26 October 1851 and 3 December 1851 to 22 January 1852).

From the tribune of the Chamber he described the revolution of February as a "catastrophe," and he supported reactionary legislation, notably the bill (31 May 1850) for the limitation of the suffrage. After the coup d'état of 2 December 1851, he was entrusted with the redaction of the new constitution, and on his resignation of office in January became vice-president of the Council of State. After the formal establishment of the Empire, Napoleon III rewarded him with a grant of £40,000 and the estate of Cirey.

In 1855 he became minister of agriculture, commerce and public works, and in 1856 senator. He created France's excellent system of railways without making them a state monopoly, and he conducted the complicated negotiations for the treaty of commerce with England which was concluded in January 1860, and subsequently arranged similar treaties with Belgium and Italy. On 23 June 1863 he became minister president of the Council of State, and on the death of Adolphe Billault on 18 October 1863 minister of state and chief spokesman of the emperor. before the Corps Législatif.

Although the government had a great majority in the Chamber, the opposition counted the redoubtable names of Adolphe Thiers, Berryer and Jules Favre, and government measures were only passed by frequent resort to the closure. Rouher had to defend Napoleon's foreign adventures as well as the free trade treaties and the extravagances of Baron Haussmann for which he was directly responsible. After an attempted defence of the foreign policy which had aided the aggrandizement of Prussia at the expense of Austria, Thiers told him in the Chamber that there were "no more blunders left for him to make."

He opposed the abortive Liberal concessions of January 1867, announced in a personal letter from Napoleon III to himself, and resigned with the rest of the cabinet, only to resume office after a short interval as minister of finance from 20 January to 13 November 1867. When concessions became inevitable Rouher, the "vice-empereur" resigned to make way after six months' interval for Emile Ollivier. He still fought for reaction in his new office of President of the French Senate from 20 July, to 4 September 1870. After the fall of the Empire he fled to England, but returned to France a year later to work for the fortunes of the prince imperial. After serious disturbances he was elected member for Ajaccio on 11 February 1872, his election being characterized by the prefect of Corsica as a regular conspiracy in favour of the Empire.

In the Chamber, where he subsequently represented Riom, he formed the group of the Appel au Peuple. His first speech in the House was the occasion (21 May 1872) of violent attacks by Audiffret-Pasquier and Léon Gambetta.

In the 1876 legislative elections for the Bastia constituency Rouher won 8,790 votes against 4,367 votes for Patrice de Corsi, and was proclaimed elected on 25 February 1876.

The death of the prince imperial in 1879 put an end to the serious chances of the Bonapartists, although Rouher sought to secure the recognition of Prince Napoleon, son of Napoleon's brother Jerome, as heir to the Imperial honours. Rouher lost his reason after a stroke of paralysis in 1883, and died a few months later.

title: Eugène Rouher


text:
Annie Dillard

Annie Dillard (née Doak; born April 30, 1945) is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and non-fiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and one memoir. Her 1974 book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. From 1980, Dillard taught for 21 years in the English department of Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut.

Early life
Dillard was born April 30, 1945, in Pittsburgh to Frank and Pam Doak. She is the eldest of three daughters.

Early childhood details can be drawn from Annie Dillard's autobiography, An American Childhood (1987), about growing up in the 1950s Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh in "a house full of comedians." The book focuses on "waking up" from a self-absorbed childhood and becoming immersed in the present moment of the larger world. She describes her mother as an energetic non-conformist. Her father taught her many useful subjects such as plumbing, economics, and the intricacies of the novel On the Road, though by the end of her adolescence she began to realize neither of her parents is infallible.

In her autobiography, Dillard describes reading a wide variety of subjects including geology, natural history, entomology, epidemiology, and poetry, among others. Among the influential books from her youth were The Natural Way to Draw and Field Book of Ponds and Streams  because they allowed her a way to interact with the present moment and a way of escape, respectively. Her days were filled with exploring, piano and dance classes, rock collecting, bug collecting, drawing, and reading books from the public library including natural history and military history such as that of World War II.

As a child, Dillard attended the Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, though her parents did not attend.  She spent four summers at the First Presbyterian Church (FPC) Camp in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. As an adolescent, she stopped attending church, citing "hypocrisy." When she told her minister of her decision, she was given four volumes of C. S. Lewis's broadcast talks, from which she appreciated that author's philosophy on suffering, but elsewhere found the topic inadequately addressed.

She attended Pittsburgh Public Schools until fifth grade, and then The Ellis School until college.

Education
Dillard attended Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia, where she studied English, theology, and creative writing. Dillard stated, "In college I learned how to learn from other people. As far as I was concerned, writing in college didn't consist of what little Annie had to say, but what Wallace Stevens had to say. I didn't come to college to think my own thoughts, I came to learn what had been thought." She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967 and a Master of Arts degree in 1968. Her Master's thesis on Henry David Thoreau showed how Walden Pond functioned as "the central image and focal point for Thoreau's narrative movement between heaven and earth."

Dillard spent the first few years after graduation oil painting, writing, and keeping a journal. Several of her poems and short stories were published, and during this time she also worked for Lyndon B. Johnson's Anti-Poverty Program.

From 1975 to 1978, Dillard was a scholar-in-residence at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

Dillard has since received honorary doctorate degrees from Boston College, Connecticut College, and the University of Hartford.

Writing
Dillard's works have been compared to those by Virginia Woolf, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Emily Dickinson, William Blake, and John Donne, and she cites Henry James, Thomas Hardy, Graham Greene, George Eliot, and Ernest Hemingway among her favorite authors.

Tickets for a Prayer Wheel (1974)
In her first book of poems, Tickets for a Prayer Wheel (1974), Dillard first articulated themes that she would later explore in other works of prose.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (1974)
Dillard's journals served as a source for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (1974), a nonfiction narrative about the natural world near her home in Roanoke, Virginia. Although the book contains named chapters, it is not (as some critics assumed) a collection of essays. Early chapters were published in The Atlantic, Harpers, and Sports Illustrated. The book describes God by studying creation, leading one critic to call her "one of the foremost horror writers of the 20th Century." In The New York Times, Eudora Welty said the work was "admirable writing" that reveals "a sense of wonder so fearless and unbridled... [an] intensity of experience that she seems to live in order to declare," but "I honestly don't know what [Dillard] is talking about at... times."

The book won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. Dillard was 28, making her the youngest woman to have won the award.

Holy the Firm (1977)
One day, Dillard decided to begin a project in which she would write about whatever happened on Lummi Island within a three-day time period. When a plane crashed on the second day, Dillard began to contemplate the problem of pain and God's allowance of "natural evil to happen."

Although Holy the Firm (1977) was only 66 pages long, it took her 14 months, writing full-time, to complete the manuscript. In The New York Times Book Review novelist Frederick Buechner called it "a rare and precious book." Some critics wondered whether Dillard was under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs while writing the book. Dillard replied that she was not.

Teaching a Stone to Talk (1982)
Teaching a Stone to Talk (1982) is a book of 14 short nonfiction narrative and travel essays. The essay "Life on the Rocks: The Galapagos" won the New York Women's Press Club award, and "Total Eclipse" was chosen for Best American Essays of the [20th] Century (2000). As Dillard herself notes, "'The Weasel is lots of fun; the much-botched church service is (I think) hilarious." Following the first hardcover edition of the book, the order of essays was changed. Initially "Living Like Weasels" was first, followed by "An Expedition to the Pole." "Total Eclipse" was found between "On a Hill Far Away" and "Lenses."

The essays in Teaching a Stone to Talk:
 * "Total Eclipse"
 * "An Expedition to the Pole"
 * "In the Jungle"
 * "Living Like Weasels"
 * "The Deer at Providencia"
 * "Teaching a Stone to Talk"
 * "On a Hill Far Away"
 * "Lenses"
 * "Life on the Rocks: The Galapagos"
 * "A Field of Silence"
 * "God in the Doorway"
 * "Mirages"
 * "Sojourner"
 * "Aces and Eights"

Living by Fiction (1982)
In Living by Fiction (1982), Dillard produced her "theory about why flattening of character and narrative cannot happen in literature as it did when the visual arts rejected deep space for the picture plane." She later said that, in the process of writing this book, she talked herself into writing an old-fashioned novel.

Encounters with Chinese Writers (1984)
Encounters with Chinese Writers (1984) is a work of journalism. One part takes place in China, where Dillard was a member of a delegation of six American writers and publishers, following the fall of the Gang of Four. In the second half, Dillard hosts a group of Chinese writers, whom she takes to Disneyland along with Allen Ginsberg. Dillard describes it as "hilarious."

The Writing Life (1989)
The Writing Life (1989) is a collection of short essays in which Dillard "discusses with clear eye and wry wit how, where and why she writes." The Boston Globe called it "a kind of spiritual Strunk & White, a small and brilliant guidebook to the landscape of a writer's task." The Chicago Tribune wrote that, "For nonwriters, it is a glimpse into the trials and satisfactions of a life spent with words. For writers, it is a warm, rambling conversation with a stimulating and extraordinarily talented colleague." The Detroit News called it "a spare volume...that has the power and force of a detonating bomb." According to a biography of Dillard written by her husband Robert D. Richardson, Dillard "repudiates The Writing Life, except for the last chapter, the true story of stunt pilot Dave Rahm."

The Living (1992)
Dillard's first novel, The Living (1992), centers on the first European settlers of the Pacific Northwest coast. While writing the book, she never allowed herself to read works that postdated the year she was writing about, nor did she use anachronistic words.

Mornings Like This (1995)
Mornings Like This (1995) is a book dedicated to found poetry. Dillard took and arranged phrases from various old books, creating poems that are often ironic in tone. The poems are not related to the original books' themes. "A good trick should look hard and be easy," said Dillard. "These poems were a bad trick. They look easy and are really hard."

For the Time Being (1999)
For the Time Being (1999) is a work of narrative nonfiction. Its topics mirror the various chapters of the book and include "birth, sand, China, clouds, numbers, Israel, encounters, thinker, evil, and now." In her own words on this book, she writes, "I quit the Catholic Church and Christianity; I stay near Christianity and Hasidism."

The Maytrees (2007)
The Maytrees (2007) is Dillard's second novel. The story begins after World War II and tells of a lifelong love between a husband and wife who live in Provincetown, Cape Cod. It was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 2008.

The Abundance (2017)
The Abundance, a collection of essays curated by the author, was published in 2017.

Teaching
In 1975, Dillard moved to the Pacific Northwest and taught for four years at Fairhaven College and Western Washington University. In 1980, she began teaching in the English department of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where she remained until she retired Professor Emerita in 2002.

Awards and honors
Dillard's books have been translated into at least 10 languages. Her 1975 Pulitzer-winning book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, made Random House's survey of the century's 100 best nonfiction books. The Los Angeles Times' survey of the century's 100 best Western novels includes The Living. The century's 100 best spiritual books (ed. Philip Zaleski) also includes Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. The 100 best essays (ed. Joyce Carol Oates) includes "Total Eclipse," from Teaching a Stone to Talk. The translators of two of Dillard's books—Sabine Porte and Pierre Gault—have won Maurice-Edgar Cointreau Prizes in France for their translations. Gault's translation of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek as  Pélerinage à Tinker Creek won in 1999 and Porte's translation of For the Time Being as  Au Présent won in 2002.

To celebrate its city's centennial in 1984, the Boston Symphony commissioned Sir Michael Tippett to compose a symphony. He based part of its text on Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

In 1997, Dillard was inducted into the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame for Writing and Journalism.

In 2000, Dillard's For the Time Being received the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay.

In 2005, artist Jenny Holzer used An American Childhood, along with three other books, in her light-based 'scrolling' artwork "For Pittsburgh," installed at the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh.

The New York Times named Maytrees among the top ten books published in 2007.

On September 10, 2015, Dillard was awarded a National Humanities Medal.

Relationships
In 1965, at age 20, Dillard married her creative writing professor, Richard Dillard. In 1975, they divorced amicably and she moved from Roanoke to Lummi Island near Bellingham, Washington.

In 1976, she married Gary Clevidence, an anthropology professor at Fairhaven College, and they have a child, Cody Rose, born in 1984. Dillard and Clevidence remained married until 1988.

In 1988, Dillard married historical biographer Robert D. Richardson, whom she met after sending him a fan letter about his book Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind. They were married until Richardson's death in 2020.

Religion
After college Dillard says she became "spiritually promiscuous." Her first prose book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, makes references not only to Christ and the Bible, but also to Islam, and Judaism, Buddhism, and Inuit spirituality. Dillard for a while converted to Roman Catholicism around 1988. This was described in detail in a New York Times overview of her work in 1992.

In 1994, she won the Campion Award, given to a Catholic writer every year by the editors of America. In her 1999 book, For the Time Being, she describes her abandonment of Christianity, describing the supposed absurdity of some Christian doctrines, while stating she still stays near Christianity, and continuing to valorize Catholic writer Teilhard de Chardin. Her personal website lists her religion as "none."

Philanthropy
Sales of Dillard's paintings benefit Partners in Health, a Boston-based nonprofit international health organization founded by Dr. Paul Farmer. Dillard's art is available on her website.

Major works

 * 1974 Tickets for a Prayer Wheel ISBN 0-8195-6536-9
 * 1974 Pilgrim at Tinker Creek ISBN 0-06-095302-0
 * 1977 Holy The Firm ISBN 0-06-091543-9
 * 1982 Living By Fiction ISBN 0-06-091544-7
 * 1982 Teaching a Stone To Talk ISBN 0-06-091541-2
 * 1984 Encounters with Chinese Writers ISBN 0-8195-6156-8
 * 1987 An American Childhood ISBN 0-06-091518-8
 * 1989 The Writing Life ISBN 0-06-091988-4
 * 1992 The Living ISBN 0-06-092411-X
 * 1995 Mornings Like This: Found Poems ISBN 0-06-092725-9
 * 1999 For the Time Being ISBN 0-375-40380-9
 * 2007 The Maytrees ISBN 0-06-123953-4
 * 2016 The Abundance: Narrative Essays Old & New ISBN 0-06-243297-4

title: Annie Dillard


text:
Talk:Estoril

removed text that appeared to be the same as that at http://www.chipidea.com/esscirc2003/general_information.html

Moitas Beach is not in the parish of Estoril, its in the parish of Cascais. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.155.202.68 (talk) 11:25, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

refs
article would benefit from additional sources being added .--RichardMills65 (talk) 04:18, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Estoril is NOT in "central Lisbon"
The wording of the introductory paragraph should be changed so that it says central Lisbon DISTRICT. Saying just "central Lisbon" implies that it's in downtown. Ssredg (talk) 10:25, 18 June 2012 (UTC)

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Home automation

Home automation or domotics is building automation for a home. A home automation system will monitor and/or control home attributes such as lighting, climate, entertainment systems, and appliances. It may also include home security such as access control and alarm systems.

The phrase smart home refers to home automation devices that have internet access. Home automation, a broader category, includes any device that can be monitored or controlled via wireless radio signals, not just those having internet access. When connected with the Internet, home sensors and activation devices are an important constituent of the Internet of Things ("IoT").

A home automation system typically connects controlled devices to a central smart home hub (sometimes called a "gateway"). The user interface for control of the system uses either wall-mounted terminals, tablet or desktop computers, a mobile phone application, or a Web interface that may also be accessible off-site through the Internet.

History
Early home automation began with labor-saving machines. Self-contained electric or gas powered home appliances became viable in the 1900s with the introduction of electric power distribution and led to the introduction of washing machines (1904), water heaters (1889), refrigerators (1913), sewing machines, dishwashers, and clothes dryers.

In 1975, the first general purpose home automation network technology, X10, was developed. It is a communication protocol for electronic devices. It primarily uses electric power transmission wiring for signalling and control, where the signals involve brief radio frequency bursts of digital data, and remains the most widely available.

By 2012, in the United States, according to ABI Research, 1.5 million home automation systems were installed. Per research firm Statista more than 45 million smart home devices will be installed in U.S. homes by the end of the year 2018.

The word "domotics" is a contraction of the Latin word for a home (domus) and the word robotics. The word "smart" in "smart home" refers to the system being aware of the state of its devices, which is done through the information and communication technologies (ICT) protocol and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Applications and technologies
Home automation is prevalent in a variety of different realms, including:
 * Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC): it is possible to have remote control of all home energy monitors over the internet incorporating a simple and friendly user interface.
 * Lighting control system: a "smart" network that incorporates communication between various lighting system inputs and outputs, using one or more central computing devices.
 * Occupancy-aware control system: it is possible to sense the occupancy of the home using smart meters and environmental sensors like CO2 sensors, which can be integrated into the building automation system to trigger automatic responses for energy efficiency and building comfort applications.
 * Appliance control and integration with the smart grid and a smart meter, taking advantage, for instance, of high solar panel output in the middle of the day to run washing machines.
 * Home robots and security: a household security system integrated with a home automation system can provide additional services such as remote surveillance of security cameras over the Internet, or access control and central locking of all perimeter doors and windows.
 * Leak detection, smoke and CO detectors
 * Laundry-folding machine, self-making bed
 * Indoor positioning systems (IPS).
 * Home automation for the elderly and disabled.
 * Pet and baby care, for example tracking the pets and babies' movements and controlling pet access rights.
 * Air quality control (inside and outside). For example, Air Quality Egg is used by people at home to monitor the air quality and pollution level in the city and create a map of the pollution.
 * Smart kitchen, with refrigerator inventory, premade cooking programs, cooking surveillance, etc.
 * Voice control devices like Amazon Alexa or Google Nest used to control home appliances or systems.

Implementations
In 2011, Microsoft Research found that home automation could involve a high cost of ownership, inflexibility of interconnected devices, and poor manageability. When designing and creating a home automation system, engineers take into account several factors including scalability, how well the devices can be monitored and controlled, ease of installation and use for the consumer, affordability, speed, security, and ability to diagnose issues. Findings from iControl showed that consumers prioritize ease-of-use over technical innovation, and although consumers recognize that new connected devices have an unparalleled cool factor, they are not quite ready to use them in their own homes yet.

Historically, systems have been sold as complete systems where the consumer relies on one vendor for the entire system including the hardware, the communications protocol, the central hub, and the user interface. However, there are now open hardware and open source software systems which can be used instead of or with proprietary hardware. Many of these systems interface with consumer electronics such as the Arduino or Raspberry Pi, which are easily accessible online and in most electronics stores. In addition, home automation devices are increasingly interfaced with mobile phones through Bluetooth, allowing for increased affordability and customizability for the user.

Criticism and controversies
Home automation suffers from platform fragmentation and lack of technical standards     a situation where the variety of home automation devices, in terms of both hardware variations and differences in the software running on them, makes the task of developing applications that work consistently between different inconsistent technology ecosystems hard. Customers may hesitate to bet their IoT future on proprietary software or hardware devices that use proprietary protocols that may fade or become difficult to customize and interconnect.

The nature of home automation devices can also be a problem for security, data security and data privacy, since patches to bugs found in the core operating system often do not reach users of older and lower-price devices. One set of researchers say that the failure of vendors to support older devices with patches and updates leaves more than 87% of active devices vulnerable.

Concerns have been raised by tenants renting from landlords who decide to upgrade units with smart home technology. These concerns include weak wireless connections that render the door or appliance unusable or impractical; the security of door passcodes kept by the landlord; and the potential invasion of privacy that comes with connecting smart home technologies to home networks.

Researchers have also conducted user studies to determine what the barriers are for consumers when integrating home automation devices or systems into their daily lifestyle. One of the main takeaways was regarding ease of use, as consumers tend to steer towards "plug and play" solutions over more complicated setups. One study found that there were large gaps in the mental-models generated by users regarding how the devices actually work. Specifically, the findings showed that there was a lot of misunderstanding related to where the data collected by smart devices was stored and how it was used. For example, in a smart light setup, one participant thought that her iPad communicated directly with the light, telling it to either turn-off or on. In reality, the iPad sends a signal to the cloud system that the company uses (in this case, the Hue Bridge) which then signals directly to the device.

Overall, this field is still evolving and the nature of each device is constantly changing. While technologists work to create more secure, streamlined, and standardized security protocols, consumers also need to learn more about how these devices work and what the implications of putting them in their homes can be. The growth of this field is currently limited not only by technology but also by a user's ability to trust a device and integrate it successfully into his/her daily life.

Impact
Utilizing home automation could lead to more efficient and intelligent energy-saving techniques. By integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) with renewable energy systems such as solar power or wind power, homes can autonomously make decisions about whether to store energy or expend it for a given appliance, leading to overall positive environmental impacts and lower electricity bills for the consumers using the system. To do this, researchers propose using data from sensors regarding consumer activity within the home to anticipate consumer needs and balance that with energy consumption.

Furthermore, home automation has a large potential regarding family safety and security. According to a 2015 survey done by iControl, the primary drivers of the demand for smart and connected devices are first "personal and family security", and second "excitement about energy savings". Home automation includes a variety of smart security systems and surveillance setups. This allows consumers to monitor their homes while away, and to give trusted family members access to that information in case anything bad happens.

While there are many competing vendors, there are increasing efforts towards open source systems. However, there are issues with the current state of home automation including a lack of standardized security measures and deprecation of older devices without backwards compatibility.

Home automation has high potential for sharing data between family members or trusted individuals for personal security purposes and could lead to energy saving measures with a positive environmental impact in the future.

The home automation market was worth US$64 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to over $163 billion in 2028.

title: Home automation