Old Military Asylum (1827)

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Mª Francisca Benedita (1746 - 1829), sister of Queen Maria I, married at the age of 30 with his nephew, prince José. Eleven years later she became a widow and founded, at his own expense, the Military Invalid Asylum of Runa, to house the veterans of the campaign of Rousillon (1793-1795) and the Peninsular War (1807-1814). Started on June 18, 1792 and ended on July 25, 1827, it had more than 300 workers and it was the princess herself who served the first meal to the 16 veterans who inaugurated the asylum.

At the gate of arms, follow the beautiful lane lined with orange trees, to the front of the building. To the left, is the princess bust. Of rectangular plan, with 3 floors separated by a frieze and windows framed in stonework, with the one of the third floor, cornice salient, crowned by a triangular pediment with arms in the tympanum. On the south and west wings were the princess's quarters.

It is said that the building has 365 windows, as many as the days of the year. The church is of Latin cross and the interior has polychrome marbles (i.e. of various colors) from the region, being the sculptural set in Carrara marble. The cruise is surmounted by a dome that stands out in the local landscape. Still on the galilee, is the royal gallery where, today, is the asylum museum. There, you can see several paintings of the so-called Portuguese Primitives and one of Vieira Lusitano, as well as 18^th- 19^th and the custody executed according to the drawing of the princess, richly decorated with precious stones.

Outside the building, on the east side, stands the monumental cellar, almost unchanged since the construction. A little further away, is the graveyard with several graves of veterans of the First World War (1914-1918). Finally, relax a bit in the woods, where in addition to several species of Portuguese trees you can see the famous Mexican Cypress (Cupressus lusitanica). Contrary to what the scientific name seems to suggest, this species is not native to Portugal, but to Mexico and Guatemala, and will have come from North America at the end of the 18^th century to reforest Bussaco mountain. Other specimens of this species can be observed in Runa.