The Surprising "Inverted tower" of Sintra: Discover the Secret Hidden in the Deepest Building in Europe

It is one of the attractions of this Portuguese palace and is located in its garden. This surprising place excavated in the earth is a must-see for its spectacular measurements.

Palacio Quinta da Regaleira.
This palace was built at the beginning of the 20th century, specifically between 1904 and 1910, and is a place full of mysterious tunnels and spectacular gardens.

No one would say that behind those imposing walls lies a treasure of incalculable beauty. We are talking about the Palacio da Quinta da Regaleira, located in Sintra, a beautiful Portuguese town located half an hour from Lisbon. At first glance it may seem like one of the many palaces in this town that is called the romantic capital of Europe, a kind of Portuguese Versailles.

A Masonic initiation well in its gardens

But if you enter this palace, which by the way has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995, you find something unexpected: a deep cavity, a kind of well with a peculiarity: it has stairs and arches with walls covered in moss. that give it a mysterious atmosphere.

Little Masonic Initiation.
This visual wonder is a kind of stone well with nine floors connected by stairs, which also communicates with the palace through a network of tunnels and passages.

It is one of the most visited places in the palace, and is also located in its gardens. Built in what is a mixture of neo-Gothic and Manueline, Renaissance and medieval styles, it is believed that it served for Masonic rituals in a kind of representation of the transition from death to reincarnation.

This well is also known as the inverted tower, because in the Masonic ritual the initiates ascended to heaven from the depths of the earth. It has become a very famous place thanks to social networks.

In the deepest part of the well, which measures 27 metres, there is a marble Templar cross. It is a gallery with a spiral staircase that separates each of the nine floors by 15 steps, also decorated with clear references to Dante's Divine Comedy, with figures that evoke Heaven and Hell.

And although the initiation well draws special attention, it is not the only attraction of the place, as it has other treasures of incalculable value. Near the upper entrance is the monumental Portal of the Guardians, with two mermen who watch over anyone who enters its interior.

If you get lost in the immense palace, you can visit lakes, gardens, tunnels, and even a chapel, or towers like the octagonal one, which competes for prominence with the inverted tower. Highlights include the notes and sketches that the designer of the palace, Luigi Manini, took on all his travels, and which later gave life to what the palace is today.