ghest
points of the Serra is surmounted by the Palacio da Pena, a fantastic
imitation of a medieval fortress, built on the site of a Hieronymite
convent by the prince consort Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg (d. 1885); while
an adjacent part of the range is occupied by the Castello des Mouros, an
extensive Moorish fortification, containing a small ruined mosque and a
very curious set of ancient cisterns. The lower slopes of the Serra are
covered with the gardens and villas of the wealthier inhabitants of
Lisbon, who migrate hither in spring and stay until late autumn.

In the town itself the most conspicuous building is a 14th-15th-century
royal palace, partly Moorish, partly debased Gothic in style, and
remarkable for the two immense conical chimneys which rise like towers
in the midst. The 18th-century Palacio de Seteaes, built in the French
style then popular in Portugal, is said to derive its name ("Seven
_Ahs_") from a sevenfold echo; here, on the 22nd of August 1808, was
signed the convention of Cintra, by which the British and Portuguese
allowed the French army to evacuate the kingdom without molestation.
Beside the road which leads for 31/2 m. W. to the village of Collares,
celebrated for its wine, is the Penha Verde, an interesting country
house and chapel, founded by Joao de Castro (1500-1548), fourth viceroy
of the Indies. De Castro also founded the convent of Santa Cruz, better
known as the Convento de Cortica or Cork convent, which stands at the
western extremity of the Serra, and owes its name to the cork panels
which formerly lined its walls. Beyond the Penha Verde, on the Collares
road, are the palace and park of Montserrate. The palace was originally
built by William Beckford, the novelist and traveller (1761-1844), and
was purchased in 1856 by Sir Francis Cook, an Englishman who afterwards
obtained the Portuguese title viscount of Montserrate. The palace, which
contains a valuable library, is built of pure white stone, in Moorish
style; its walls are elaborately sculptured. The park, with its tropical
luxuriance of vegetation and its variety of lake, forest and mountain
scenery, is by far the finest example of landscape gardening in the
Iberian Peninsula, and probably among the finest in the world. Its
high-lying lawns, which overlook the Atlantic, are as perfect as any in
England, and there is one ravine containing a whole wood of giant
tree-ferns from New Zealand. Other rare plants have been systematically
c