Regaleira Gardens (Jardim da Regaleira)

The Jardim da Regaleira was designated a World Heritage by UNESCO. It was owned by Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteira (1848-1920) and designed by the Italian theatre set designer Luigi Manini (1848-1936). They aimed to fuse Portuguese mythology, a number of artistic ideas (Gothic, Renaissance, Rococo, Manueline etc) and glorify everything sacred. The gardens caontain fountains, terraces, lakes and grottoes. The Initiation Well, inspired by the initiation rites of the Knights Templars and Freemasons, has a moss-strewn spiral stairway descending into the ground