Consisting in several bodies built during the course of successive, the Paço da Vila de Sintra is one of the most important examples of regal architecture in Portugal and for that reason is classified as a National Monument. This gradual multiplication of buildings, with different styles, llargely responsible for the enigmatic enchantment of this ancient palace, dominated by great twin chimneys atop the kitchen that constitute an authentic ex-libris of Sintra.
After the Reconquest, the Palace passed into the possession of the Crown and was considerably enlarged, not only in the reign of Dom Dinis - who in 1281 laid down that the conservation of the Palace should be entrusted to the enfranchised Moors of Colares - but especially in the reigns of Dom João I (1385-1433) and Dom Manuel (1495-1521).

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