Portugal 50 Escudos banknote 1925
Obverse: Portrait of Vasco da Gama (1469 – 1524) was a Portuguese explorer and navigator, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. At right, Mafra National Palace and the issuer name "BANCO DE PORTUGAL".
Reverse: In the top, the issuer name "BANCO DE PORTUGAL". Coat of Arms of Portugal at center and value in each corner.
Printer: Waterlow & Sons Limited, London.
Portugal banknotes - Portugal paper money
1924-1925 "Chapa 3 & 4" Issue
5 Escudos 10 Escudos 20 Escudos 50 Escudos 100 Escudos
500 Escudos 1000 Escudos
Mafra National Palace and Convent of Mafra
The Mafra National Palace is a monumental Baroque and Italianized Neoclassical palace-monastery located in Mafra, Portugal, some 28 kilometres from Lisbon.
The palace, which also served as a Franciscan monastery, was built during the reign of King John V (1707–1750), as consequence of a vow the king made in 1711, to build a convent if his wife, Queen Mary Anne of Austria, gave him offspring. The birth of his first daughter, princess Barbara of Braganza, prompted construction of the palace to begin. The palace was conveniently located near royal hunting preserves, and was usually a secondary residence for the royal family.
This vast complex is among the most sumptuous Baroque buildings in Portugal and at 40,000 m², one of the largest royal palaces. Designed by the German architect João Frederico Ludovice, the palace was built symmetrically from a central axis, occupied by the basilica, and continues lengthwise through the main façade until two major towers. The structures of the convent are located behind the main façade. The building also includes a major library, with about 40,000 rare books. The basilica is decorated with several Italian statues and includes six historical pipe organs and two carillons, composed of 92 bells.
The rectangle behind the church and the palace houses the monastery of the Franciscan monks of Arrábida Order (Ordem de São Francisco da Província da Arrábida) with cells for about 300 friars in long corridors on several floors. Between 1771 and 1791 this monastery was occupied by the Hermit Friars of St. Augustine.