Gerard Devisme rents the estate and constructs the first palace

Illustrious English inhabitants (Monserrate is coveted by the English Romantics).

The community of rich English merchants based in Lisbon soon discovered the charms of Sintra, which were held in particularly high esteem in the early Romantic period.

In 1790 the site of Monserrate was rented by Gerard de Visme, who immediately ordered a small palace to be built in the neo-Gothic style that was then beginning to emerge in England. Built according to a longitudinal plan, marked by a central body and fortified towers at its ends, the construction was carefully erected on the hill to take advantage of the superb views of the mountains and the sea.