Presidential Palace, São Tomé

Presidential Palace of São Tomé e Príncipe
Palácio Presidencial de São Tomé e Príncipe
Presidential Palace on São Tomé Island Location of the Presidential Palace of São Tomé e Príncipe on the Island of São Tomé
Former names	Palácio do Governo de São Tomé
Alternative names	Palácio do Povo
General information
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Town or city	São Tomé
Country	São Tomé and Príncipe
Coordinates	0.339062°N 6.733215°E / 0.339062; 6.733215
Estimated completion	between 1844 and 1885
Renovated	1954
Technical details
Floor count	2
Renovating team
Architect(s)	Eurico Pinto Lopes

The Presidential Palace of São Tomé e Príncipe (Portuguese: Palácio Presidencial de São Tomé e Príncipe, also known as Palácio do Povo) is the official residence of the president of São Tomé and Príncipe and located in the capital, São Tomé. The 19th-century Portuguese colonial style structure formerly served as the residence of the governor of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe, until 1975 when the country achieved independence.

Structure and location

The Presidential Palace is a large, L-shaped mansion surrounded by a large garden. The palace is two stories and has a rose-pink façade with simple neoclassical elements. It is surrounded by pink concrete columns and a high iron fence with a closely guarded entrance. It is located next to Praça do Povo (Square of the People) between Avenida da Independência and Avenida 12 de Julho with its principal façade facing Rua de St. António do Príncipe. It is in close proximity to Our Lady of Grace Cathedral and a block from Ana Chaves Bay.[1][2]

Construction

The exact date of construction of the Presidential Palace is unknown. It is built on the site where Álvaro Caminha, an early administrator of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe, ordered the construction of the Torre do Capitão (Captain's Tower) between 1492 and 1493. The tower fell into ruin, and Cunha Matos described a government building on the former tower site in 1835; he describes the palace as spacious but poorly furnished. A building appears in a drawing on the site in 1844 that corresponds to Cunha Matos' description, but of a different design than the current Presidential Palace. The current structure appears in a photograph dated 1885. João Sousa Morais and Joana Bastos Malheiro, researchers on the architectural history of São Tomé e Príncipe, propose that the structure was built in the intervening period.[3][4]

The building was known from its construction as the Palácio do Governo de São Tomé (Palace of the Governor of São Tomé), or more simply as the Palácio do Governo and was one of the few buildings in the colony in workable condition at the end of the 18th century. It was built as a mansion in a simple classical style typical of the Portuguese overseas territories, with two stories and a rose-pink façade.[4]

Renovation

The structure was upgraded during the Portuguese Estado Novo in the final stage of the colonial period. The Portuguese Town Planning Committee for the Overseas Territories (Gabinete de Urbanização do Ultramar, GUU) carried out urban survey and constructed monuments, buildings, and housing to promote the Portuguese state across all overseas colonies. One project of the GUU was the upgrade of the Palácio do Governo. Eurico Pinto Lopes, a Portuguese architect, supervised the renovation of the palace in 1954. The addition of neoclassical building elements, which included window ornamentation, columns along the spans of the building, and a main staircase at the entrance, were used "to give monumentality to the building."[1][5]

Access

The Presidential Palace is not open to the public, and photography of the building is not permitted.

References

1. Fernandes, José Manuel (2012). As cidades de São Tomé e de Santo António, até aos séculos XIX e XX - arquitectura e urbanismo (PDF). Actas do Colóquio Internacional São Tomé e Príncipe numa perspectiva interdisciplinar, diacrónica e sincrónica (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Centro de Estudos Africanos (CEA-IUL). p. 78.
2. Vaz Milheiro, Ana (2012). São Tomé e Príncipe e o trabalho do Gabinete de Urbanização Colonial (1944-1974). Actas do Colóquio Internacional São Tomé e Príncipe numa perspectiva interdisciplinar, diacrónica e sincrónica (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Centro de Estudos Africanos (CEA-IUL). pp. 100–101.
3. Loureiro, João M. (2005). Postais antigos de S. Tomé e Príncipe (in Portuguese). Lisboa: Maisimagem. p. 78. ISBN 9729963320.
4. Morais, João; Malheiro, Joana Bastos (2013). São Tomé e Príncipe: as cidades : património arquitectónico (in Portuguese). Casal de Cambra: Caleidoscópio. p. 170. ISBN 9789896582203.
5. Vaz Milheiro, Ana (2016). "Palácio Presidencial ou do Governo" (in Portuguese). Lisbon, Portugal: Património de Influência Portuguesa. Retrieved 2016-09-04.