Mafra
Interesting
Located 40km from Lisbon, Mafra perfectly illustrates the megalomania of King João V "the Magnanimous", Portugal's "Sun King", who had a grandiose monastery built here with gold from Brazil in the 18C. The king called in Italian and Portuguese architects, who oversaw 50 000 workers for 13 years. This gigantic building comprises a basilica, a palace and a monastery, and has 1 200 rooms, 4 700 doors and windows and 156 staircases! The nearby Old Town is well worth seeing.
