English
Dean’s Palace
Quepem, Goa, India
Housing
Given the disappearance of almost all civil architecture built by the Portuguese nobility, the Dean’s Palace [Palácio do Deão] in Quepem is especially important for the analysis of Indo-Portuguese typologies. Its garden still has various scattered features such as a pond, gazebo, belvedere, balustrades, vases and flame ornaments, which indicate to us that this is a very complex garden without parallel in Goa, except for references in old documentation. The house was built on the initiative of Father José Paulo da Costa Pereira de Almeida, who came to India as canon in 1780 in the entourage of Archbishop Friar Manuel de Santa Catarina. This rich prelate was later appointed dean of the Goa cathedral and began construction of the palace in 1787, when construction work officially started on the Church of the Holy Cross in Quepem, as indicated by a plaque on the forecourt cross of the same church. Although the building was commissioned by a prelate born in Europe, it incorporates Indo-Portuguese customs, like the fact that it is organised on one ground floor, contrary to the traditional arrangement of Portuguese noble houses, always with two levels and the main floor marking the first level. As for the design and façade structure, the palace also has particularly interesting aspects without parallel in metropolitan architecture. The façade confirms the permanence of a Mannerist tradition; its arrangement comprises a tripartite structure with strong Corinthian pilasters. The entrance portico forms the narthex and is balanced at each façade end by double pilasters, which suggest two distinct small bodies. In the 18th century the tile roofs must still have used scissor trusses, as can be seen in the drawing by Lopes Mendes. At the time the façade flanks formed two small turrets crowned by autonomous pointed tile roofs,, as also happens at the Santana da Silva Palace in Margao, built during the same period. The chapel in the entrance area is rigorously on the house’s axis and due to its familiarity with, and the significance of the everyday approaches the concept of a Hindu altar. The affinities with the Santana da Silva Palace in Margao are more than evident. In both cases, a long staircase develops in front of the chapel which enables a clear distribution of people according to their social levels. The back of the house presents another particularly interesting feature. In Hindu tradition, the building has a long dining room: the vasary. In the middle of this room a large columned veranda opens, projecting over the garden, giving the entire complex a rare feeling of recreation and leisure. The dean bequeathed the palace for use as a recreational residence for the viceroys. The palace was planned by Lopes Mendes when he was here in 1862. At the time the building had already undergone some modifications that had removed its baroque spirit, as can be seen in the neo-classical entrance stairs.