Main Floor - The Library as a Temple of Knowledge

Start by noting the contrast with the building's stripped exterior. This rich, warm and enveloping interior is achieved through the harmony of the various elements, from the grey and white stone floors to the ceilings with perspective paintings. In keeping with international fashion, which cultivated a taste for the exotic, the bookcases and retractable staircases, decorated in gold, incorporate Chinese motifs, a technique known as Chinoiserie, and the six reading tables with inlays are made from precious tropical woods.

To enhance this sense of splendour and better understand the symbolism behind the construction of this space, we propose that you stand at the threshold of the main door. This is where the experience makes sense. Observe how, by crossing the three rooms, an axis opens up in front of us, which encourages us to move towards the portrait of King John V. The king is the centre of the whole composition. He personifies the Christian Sage, who thus unifies faith and knowledge, a status that serves as a model for students. It is this mixture of sacred, profane that prevails on the Main Floor, and that can be deciphered through the path that begins at the door. How is it achieved? The movement towards the image of the King is reminiscent of the path a believer takes from the church door to the altar. Here, in the place of the believer, the student. At the altar, in the place of the divine figure, the monarch. Several elements surrounding the portrait commissioned to Domenico Dupra reveal this desire to associate the image of the wise King with the champion of faith. We highlight the trumpeter angels and cherubs holding the curtains framing the large painting, but also the weapons placed on the altar. These would have been placed here to remember the battle fought against the Turks at Cape Matapan, south of Greece, in which Portugal participated at the request of the Pope. The Portuguese ships would have played a key role in the victory, giving the King enormous international prestige.

The library's holdings have been kept in good condition thanks to the characteristics of the 18th-century building, which has very thick exterior walls and a wood-panelled interior. To keep away insects that feed on paper, the bookcases on the top floor are made of oak, a wood that gives off an odour that repels these creatures. There are still some bats, although few, which for two centuries helped to combat the insects. They come out at night to hunt and drink water and release some droppings, which means that at the end of the day the wonderful exotic wood tables on the Main Floor have to be covered with leather tablecloths.