Heraldic recreations in a nineteenth-century palace interior

the Tower of São Sebastião in Cascais, between Jorge O’Neill and the Counts of Castro Guimarães

Abstract

From the Middle Ages to the present day, heraldry has been used as an instrument for the social instrumentalisation of built space. The tower of São Sebastião, erected in Cascais by Jorge O'Neill and then bought by the Count of Castro Guimarães, is an interesting case study in this regard for the transition period between the 19th and 20th centuries. First and foremost, because of its location in a town which, in the last half-century of the Portuguese monarchy, the court chose as its favoured summer resort, and where the old aristocracy and the new plutocracy developed distinctive forms of sociability, which tended to be conducive to their fusion. These forms of sociability were based on the reproduction of aesthetic standards that were applied, among other things, to the decoration of holiday homes. In this respect, heraldry played an important role, as can be seen from its application to the interiors of the tower of São Sebastião by the first and second owners.