For centuries the Palácio Nacional de Sintra (Sintra National Palace) was the favorite summer residence of the Portuguese kings. The palace was built in the fourteenth century and is decorated with beautiful ceramic tiles.The Sintra National Palace - also known as the Paço Real or Royal Palace - is situated in the old town of Sintra, some forty kilometers from Lisbon. As early as in the tenth century a residential palace was built here by the Moors who at the time ruled over the region. In 1147, during the Christian reconquest, Dom Afonso Henriques captured Sintra from the Moors and occupied the palace, which was named Palácio de Oliva (Olive Palace). Much of what we see today can be traced back to 1385, when king John I ordered the complete reconstruction of the palace. In the early sixteenth century King Manuel I started a thorough renovation with funds acquired thanks to the riches that were brought to Lisbon by Portuguese explorers. At the same time the palace was expanded in a combination of Manueline and Mudéjar styles.