in the 18th century, d. brites maria felizarda de castro acquired a series of lots in order to build a great house for a residence and to be able to establish a factory in 1795. the project was attributed to joaquim da costa lima sampaio, and architect who had previously worked on the building of the hospital of santo antónio and the "feitoria inglesa" ("british factory house"), neo-palladian buildings designed by english architects based in porto. this influence explains the style of the palace, which follows the neoclassical style that characterised late 18th and 19th-century architecture in porto. the interior of the palace was decorated with stucco work attributed to the italian luis chiari as well as wall paintings.