The History of the Tropical Greenhouse

The tropical greenhouse is an example of iron and glass architecture, a novelty of the 19th century. It is an up-to-date work, with international parallels, particularly the Kew Botanical Gardens in London. Desired by all the directors of the Botanical Garden to be able to grow plants from other climates, it was finally designed in 1854 by engineer Pierre-Joseph Pézerat. The greenhouse was manufactured and assembled on site. Given the complexity of this innovative process, workers came from Lisbon for this purpose. It was completed after 11 years.

From the back of the greenhouse, we descend to the next stage and observe the central square, the garden's backbone. Three gateways and their staircases, built at the end of the 18th century, give access to it. To the east, the gateway dedicated to Queen Maria I stands out. The opposite side borders the woods.

The central square we can see today is the result of the Estado Novo government's intervention to embellish the garden. The decorative feature overrode botanical interest, which can be seen in the vegetation chosen and the placement of a fountain in the central tank. There are other examples of the garden's ennoblement, such as the statue of director Júlio Henriques, commissioned for the entrance landing. The intervention extended, however, to other areas, such as the construction of the unheated greenhouse.