Royal Building of Mafra – Palace, Basilica, Convent, Cerco Garden and Hunting Park ( Tapada )

King João V thought in superlatives. Conceived in 1711 as a monument to his idea of monarchy, the Royal Building of Mafra, 30 km northwest of Lisbon, packs royal palaces, a royal chapel built as a Roman Baroque basilica, a Franciscan friary and a library of 36,000 volumes into one vast quadrangle, with the geometric Cerco garden and the Tapada hunting park beyond. An exceptional piece of Italian Baroque in Portugal, it was inscribed by UNESCO in 2019.