In the second half of the nineteenth century and in the first of the twentieth, the returned emigrants built their houses defining an original architectural design and an urban structure with new streets and squares, just as they used to see it on the other side of the Atlantic where they became rich.

The private houses, built betwen 1860 and 1930, appeared at the centre of the town; their architectural characteristics were so particular that those houses were called Brazilian’s houses.

In that perspective, a few buildings in Fafe can be considered as part of the Brazilian’s house type which is the expression of a symbolic representation of the return: the palace, the palace-like house and the little palace.

In all that is represented through the architecture and the decoration of the houses façades (roughcast and whitewashed or covered with “azulejos”, a typical Portuguese tile) we can see the colours of Brazil, the earthenware roof edges, the narrow and highly decorated balconies with forged or cast iron railings, the decorated flowerbeds, the lanterns, the openwork fences and the statuettes, finishing the buildings, the halls decorated with “azulejos”, the staircases out of precious wood, stucco ceilings, the doors and the high windows at the top of which we can see colourful stained-glass windows. The cristal centre lights and the delicate furniture and china complete the theatricality of the Brazilian character and his time.

Inside, we can also see rich furniture: a straw canapé and its chairs, a varnished cherry desk and, on the floor, the precious planks out of  Brazilian wood. The ceilings and their fine stucco show the English influence, and on the walls there are postal cards with views of Rio de Janeiro, colourful oilgraphs and lithographs. The piano and the billiard table complete the scenario.