A list of plants drawn up in 1789 is the starting point for a new way to discover the Botanical Garden of the National Palace of Queluz. Recorded by Queen Maria I’s physician, Manuel de Moraes Soares, this historical documentation gives rise to a collection of engravings that crosses heritage, science, and art, whose presentation will take place on 30 October at 12:00 p.m., in the garden itself, as disclosed in a press release.
According to the same source, inspired by the tradition of botanical illustration from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the images establish a bridge between the past and the present, inviting visitors to discover the plant diversity of a space where species from different origins were gathered for their beauty, usefulness, or scientific interest.
Manuel de Moraes Soares’s list constitutes one of the most important testimonies of this botanical collection. In addition to identifying the plants then cultivated at Queluz, it allows understanding the scientific dimension of a garden that was a place of leisure and expression of an era in which knowing the world meant observing and studying its plants.
Recovered in 2017, the Botanical Garden has again offered the possibility of discovering and interpreting this heritage. The collection of illustrations extends that work, making accessible to a broader audience, through imagery and scientific rigor, knowledge that had long been confined to a small circle.
João Sousa Rego, chairman of the Board of Directors of Parques de Sintra, notes that, “by crossing the tradition of botanical illustration with a contemporary gaze, this initiative continues a gesture that crosses generations—the act of observing, recording, and transmitting knowledge about plants.”
The presentation, which will be open to the general public upon purchase of a ticket for the palace or gardens, thus invites visitors to view this space with renewed curiosity and to discover, in its plants, testimonies of the history and scientific culture of the eighteenth century.
This collection of illustrations will be on sale at Parques de Sintra shops and also in the online store, enriching the range of items available to visitors.
