Royal Palace of Évora
With King John II's death, in 1495, his cousin, Manuel I, Duke of Beja and Viseu, succeeded King John II as King Manuel I of Portugal. King Manuel I's personal monopoly on the spice trade allowed the King to be a great patron of the arts, constructing numerous palaces, convents, and churches throughout the country. King Manuel I took a great interest in Évora, establishing his court there on various occasions. From 1502 to 1520, King Manuel I ordered a vast series of renovations, constructions, and enlargements. During the Manueline Campaigns, as the works are collectively known as, the palace grew to one of the largest palaces in Iberia. Through architects Martim Lourenço, Álvaro Anes, and António de Lagoa the Manuline Campaign saw the construction of Couto Hall, the Wing of the Infantes, an infirmary, the Royal Gardens and Hunting Grounds, the Royal Library, and the Gallery of Dames, which is the only part of the palace to survive to present day. Alongside expansion of the palace, King Manuel I also renovated the existing parts of the palace, remodeling the Queen's Hall, the servants quarters, and the Rossio of the Palace. In 1519, King Manuel I ordered architect André Pires to turn the plain Hall of Ambassadors into a Manueline Throne Room, which would direct itself towards the Palace Rossio.
History of Lisbon
When King Sebastian of Portugal died at Alcácer Quibir in 1578 without heirs, he was succeeded by his great-uncle Henry of Portugal, who reigned until his own death on 31 January 1580.
Henry also lacked heirs, and his death triggered the succession crisis of 1580, in which the main claimants to the throne were Philip II of Spain and Anthony, Prior of Crato. Philip was crowned king of Portugal as Philip I in 1581, beginning the union between the two nations known as the Iberian Union. After a three-year-long war with Anthony and his foreign allies, the resistance crumbled and the union was consolidated.
In 1580, Philip started a series of construction works and renovations throughout Portugal, seeking to rehabilitate the kingdom after the War of the Portuguese Succession. During his three-year stay in Lisbon, from 1580 to 1583, Philip considered making the city the imperial capital of his trans-European monarchy and empire. To better suit the city for his extravagant court, he ordered the remodeling and expansion of Ribeira Palace, under the supervision of Filippo Terzi of Bologna, the Master of the Royal Works. The king decided to modernise the palace, stripping it of its early renaissance Manueline style and converting it into a monumental Mannerist complex. The highlight of the Philippine renovations was the reconstruction and enlargement of the "Torre do Rei" (Tower of the King), which transformed the three-story Manueline tower that housed the Casa da Índia into a five-story Mannerist tower, complete with an observatory and one of the largest royal libraries in all of Europe.