Paço d´ Ilhas

Paço d'Ilhas is a village belonging to the Parish of Santo Isidoro.

Historical Information:

According to early documentation regarding the area, that dates back to the year 1368 (the reign of D. Fernando), this village was originally called Quinta de Ilhas .
Quinta de Ilhas covered an extensive geographical area corresponding to what is now part of the Santo Isidoro Parish.
It is believed that Quinta de Ilhas was divided into two parts:
One part belonged to the Crown, later being donated to the Knight João Gonçalves, who donated the property to the Convent of S. Domingos.
The other part belonged to the Duke of Bragança, D. Jaime, later being passed on to the Counts of Ericeira and Louriçal, and afterwards to the Counts of Lumiares being the legal owners until April 6th 1881, subsequently sold to Mr. Manuel da Silva Gamanho, from Fonte Boa da Brincosa.
The registers of the Parish of Santo Isidoro reveal that the current name dates back to the beginning of the XVII century.
It is understood that the expression Paço is associated to the existence of a town-hall. The ruins of this edifice are still visible and one may still see the “ Manuelino ” style masonry.
Near the ruins there is a chapel in honor to S.Sebastian.

The archaeological information:

Archaeological discoveries suggest that a Roman Necropolis may still exist in Paço d'Ilhas. This belief is supported by legends that are still told by the older generations, associating owls to the souls of the bodies cremated in the necropolis.

Another popular legend attributes a Moorish origin to the Paço d'Ilhas ruins, where a Muslim palace may have once stood. There are many doubts in regard to these legends since there is evidence that the edifice dates back to the beginning of the XVI century. Nevertheless, there is still the possibility that these legends are true in view of the fact that the current edifice could have been built over an earlier construction, although no investigation has been made in support of these beliefs.