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{{Short description|Heritage house in Goa, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Menezes Braganza House
| image = Menezes Braganza House at Chandor, Goa Photo Peter Benaion.jpg
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| image_caption = Menezes Braganza House at Chandor, Goa
| coordinates = {{coord|15.26153|74.04346|format=dms|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
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| address = [[Chandor]], Goa, India
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The '''Menezes Braganza House''', also known as the '''Braganza Pereira House''', the '''Menezes Braganza Pereira House''', or simply as the '''Braganza House''', is a 17th-century Portuguese-style mansion in [[Chandor]], [[South Goa]]. It stretches along one side of the village square and is one of the largest colonial-period residences in Goa.<ref name="Fernandes">{{Cite web |last=Fernandes |first=Renata |date=2024-08-08 |title=Discovering the Elegance of Menezes Braganza Pereira House |url=https://itsgoa.com/discovering-the-elegance-of-menezes-braganza-pereira-house |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=ItsGoa |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="LonelyPlanet">{{Cite web |title=Braganza House – South Goa, Goa – Attractions |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/goa/chandor/attractions/braganza-house/a/poi-sig/1509109/1331042 |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=Lonely Planet}}</ref>

==History==
Family records indicate the land was granted in 1576 to Francisco Xavier e Braganza by King Dom Luís of Portugal. The original structure dates to the late 16th century, with significant extensions added in the 17th and 19th centuries. In the 19th century the house was divided between two sisters: the western wing became the Menezes Braganza property, and the eastern wing passed to the Pereira Braganza branch.<ref name="Ghadge">{{Cite web |last=Ghadge |first=Rajesh |date=2016-06-01 |title=The Colonial Houses of Goa – Braganza House, Chandor |url=https://www.incrediblegoa.org/cover-story/colonial-houses-goa-braganza-house-chandor/ |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=Incredible Goa |language=en}}</ref>

During Portuguese rule, the estate’s assets were managed as the Casa Sociedade de Braganza.<ref name="Fernandes"/>

==Architecture==
Constructed primarily of local [[laterite]], the mansion’s long whitewashed façade features 24 large sash windows and a central stuccoed balcony. The exterior was originally cream but later repainted white to align with the convention reserving ecclesiastical colours for places of worship.<ref name="Hiddleston">{{Cite magazine |first=Sarah |last=Hiddleston |date=2007-04-05 |title=House of Chandor |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/arts-and-culture/heritage/article30190762.ece |access-date=2024-09-17 |magazine=Frontline}}</ref>

An internal courtyard lies at the centre of the plan, surrounded by verandahs. The 16th-century block includes the western salon and two master bedrooms; later wings enclose a visitor’s salon, study, library, ballroom and dining room.<ref name="Hiddleston"/>

==Interiors and collections==
[[File:Relic of St Francis Xavier at the chapel at the Menezes Braganza House.jpg|thumb|Relic of St Francis Xavier at the chapel at the Menezes Braganza House]]
* Salon and flooring: Portuguese ceramic tiles in the visitor’s salon; Flemish oak in the library; Italian marble in the ballroom.<ref name="Hiddleston"/>
* Chandeliers: Crystal fixtures from Venice and Belgium.<ref name="Hiddleston"/>
* Porcelain and curios: Macao porcelain, a ceremonial coconut from the Seychelles and two large vases reputedly owned by St Francis Xavier.<ref name="Hiddleston"/>
* Windows: Some with Venetian stained glass; others inlaid with local oyster shell.<ref name="Hiddleston"/>

A private [[chapel]] in the eastern wing houses a [[fingernail]] [[relic]] of [[St Francis Xavier]].<ref name="TOISFX">{{Cite news |date=2024-11-24 |title=How Saint Francis Xavier lives on |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/how-saint-francis-xavier-lives-on/articleshow/115500937.cms |access-date=2025-01-03 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

==Library==
The house contains Goa’s largest private library, with over 5,000 leather-bound volumes in English, Latin, French and Portuguese, collected by journalist and activist [[Luís de Menezes Braganza]].<ref name="Colaco">{{Cite web |last=Colaco |first=Kimberly |date=2024-03-05 |title=Goa's private treasure trove of tomes has 5k books |url=https://www.gomantaktimes.com/my-goa/art-culture/goas-private-treasure-trove-of-tomes-has-5k-books |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=Goa News on Gomantak Times |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Hiddleston"/>

Teak and rosewood cupboards, the wood of which was harvested from family lands, hold encyclopaedias, medical and legal treatises, histories and 18th- and 19th-century fiction.<ref name="Colaco"/>

==Cultural significance==
[[Luís de Menezes Braganza]] used the mansion as a centre for political discussion, publishing ''[[O Heraldo]]'' and later ''O Debate'' from its salons. His brother-in-law, [[Tristão de Bragança Cunha]], sheltered here during political unrest in 1946 and later founded the Goa Congress Committee.<ref name="Hiddleston"/>

After the [[liberation of Goa]] in 1961, the house was neglected until a descendant initiated restoration in 1983. In 2005 a trust was established to oversee conservation.<ref name="Hiddleston"/>

The house is the subject of the 1999 Portuguese-language documentary ''A Dama de Chandor'', directed by Catarina Mourão.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Festival Scope Pro |url=https://pro.festivalscope.com/film/the-lady-of-chandor |access-date=2026-03-03 |website=pro.festivalscope.com}}</ref>

==Notable members==
Notable members of the house are:
* [[T. B. Cunha]]
* [[Luís de Menezes Bragança]]
* [[Berta de Menezes Bragança]]
* [[Beatris de Menezes Bragança]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://www.goa.gov.in/places/braganza-house/ Braganza House at the Goa Government website]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Houses in Goa]]
[[Category:Chandor]]

Menezes Braganza House - Revision history

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