Santo António da Neve

The chapel was built by Julião Pereira de Castro, the chief nurse of the Royal House, and the site is now called Santo António da Neve. There is a circular building where the snows were dragged. In the past, as the snow fell, it was collected and poured into the snowfalls, where it was transformed into ice.

With the well full, the snow was covered with straw and ferns in order to preserve it until summer. When the hot weather arrived, the ice was cut and followed in large blocks to the royal courts of Lisbon, so that our kings and their court could enjoy ice cream in the middle of summer.