Saturday, December 1, 2012

crocodile gargoyles and mythical seabeasts



The Palácio de Pena in Sintra is one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. 'Wonder' is definitely an appropriate word to describe this palace, which is a collage of Moorish, Romantic, and Medieval architectural elements— crocodile gargoyle? Yes, we'll have that. Wall of faux coral with a bearded seaman-beast spread-legged atop a giant clam? Sure! The bizarre randomness of the Palácio was a delight, and the looming grey in the sky was a perfect contrast to the fading cadmium yellow of the palace walls. It was the stuff of fairy tales, I tell you.



From the topmost level of the palace, you can watch the clouds roll in from the Atlantic— a sliver of silver on the horizon, and Lisbon is a cluttered mass in the distance.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

What a fabulously mad building.

szaza said...

Oh it's incredible— such a miss-mash, or whatever the expression is :)

Beth said...

Haven't commented for a while, but I've been loving your photographs, especially of Portugal and of the seas. You're a remarkably fine photographer, with a keen sense of color, and a love of life in both its complexity and simplicity that always comes through!

szaza said...

Thank you so very much, Beth.
You've made my day!