Palacete de Belomonte

Palacete de Belomonte is a Baroque mansion in Porto, built in the eighteenth century for Pedro Pacheco Pereira. Also known as Casa dos Pacheco Pereira, the house stands near Largo de São João Novo. Stone, symmetry and ornamental details reflect the architecture favoured by wealthy Porto families.

Pedro Pacheco Pereira placed the mansion along an important street then called Belmonte or Belomonte. During the following century, prominent figures from Porto’s cultural and political life gathered inside. After João Pacheco Pereira died, the property declined before changing hands in 1888. The Companhia de Ferro através de África replaced the family coat of arms with its own emblem. Later, the building housed Colégio de São Sebastião and Banco Aliança.

Nearby, another noble house built for Pedro Costa Lima shares the area’s eighteenth-century architectural character. António Pereira designed it, despite frequent attribution to Nicolau Nasoni. The former Augustinian church serves as a parish church, while São João Novo convent houses Porto’s Criminal Investigation Court. The Escola Superior Artística do Porto now uses the mansion for education and artistic work. Its stone emblem remains a small, visible mark of the passage from family residence to new institutional life.