Estaus Palace
Image:Rossio-CloseUp-1598.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Rossio Square in a 16th-century map. Estaus Palace is the large building in the upper left corner of the square.
Image:Palácio da Inquisição no Rossio.png|thumb|right|200px|Baroque-style Inquisition Palace before burning in 1836.
The Estaus Palace in Rossio Square, in Lisbon, was the headquarters of the Portuguese Inquisition. The original palace was built on the north side of the square around 1450 as lodging for foreign dignitaries and noblemen visiting Lisbon.
Portuguese Inquisition
In 1536, during the reign of King John III, the Inquisition was installed in Portugal, and the palace eventually became the seat of the institution. The palace had a prison and tribunal where the accused of heresy, witchcraft, and, particularly of secretly practising the Jewish faith, were subjected to trial, persecution, torture, and execution. Rossio square and nearby St. Domingos square were frequently used as setting for public executions. The first official auto-da-fé took place in 1540.Among the thousands of people accused by the Inquisition and held in the prison of the Estaus are important personalities like historian Damião de Góis, poet Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage and dramatist António José da Silva, nicknamed "the Jew", executed by the Inquisition in 1737.
The Inquisition Palace was heavily damaged in the catastrophic 1755 Lisbon earthquake, but was rebuilt under designs by Carlos Mardel. This building was destroyed by fire in 1836. The Inquisition was not abolished in Portugal until 1821.