The front facade of the palace, with the large coat-of-arms of the Bettencourt family
It is likely that the building was constructed sometime between the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century.[1]
Alterations to the interior and exterior occurred sometime between the 18th and 19th century, at the point when Francisco António de Araújo e Azevedo, then 7th Captain-General of the Azores was in power (the last during the absolutist regime).[1][2]
Following the fire at the Episcopal Palace, on 31 July 1885, the bishop moved his residence to the Bettencourt palace.[1]
D. Francisco José Ribeiro Vieira de Brito organized a banquet in order to hommage Augusto Castilho, commander of the corvette Duque Terceira on 21 May 1896.[1]
Owing to an epidemic of typhus in the seminary at the Convent of São Francisco resulted in the move of the Lyceum of Angra to the palace.[1] The bishop, who continued to live at the Palace to this period, transferred his residence to Rua D. Amélia, 74.[1] This move lasted until 1913, when the Lyceum was returned to the Convent.[1]
It was sometime in the 20th century, that the facade was remodelled, leading in 1956 to the installation of the public library.[1]
The palace was classified by a resolution-in-council (126/2004) on 9 September 2004, and included within the historical classification of the historic centre of Angra.[1] Three years later, in February, there was a presentation of a public project for a new building for the library and regional archive for Angra.[1]
Architecture
The vestibule, decorated with azulejo panelsThe library spaces, with stacks and ornate wood ceiling
The building is located in a central place, in the city of Angra do Heroísmo, on a subtle declive, with its lateral wings sitting flush with its neighbours.[1] To the south is a small garden, with rectangular wing, while to the front is the Cathedral of the Santíssimo Salvador; and around it are various residences of notable architectural interest, including the palacete Violante Castro.[1]
The principal doorway is framed and decorated with sculpted stone, and surmounted by a large rectangular cartouche with the coat-of-arms of the Bettencourt family.[1]
The architecture conforms to a 17th-century noble residence, in an irregular L-shaped plan, integrating a rectangular tower with two-story facade, separated by friezes and with pilastered corners.[1] There are many decorative elements constructed in basalt, such as the frames, rectangular windows and ornate door.[1] The main facade is marked by picture windows on the first floor and several friezes and cornices over the coat-of-arms of the family.[1] Its interior includes a central vestibule, open to the front by arched entrance over pilasters, from which was constructed a staircase.[1]
Angra do Heroísmo: Janela do Atlântico entre a Europa e o Novo Mundo (in Portuguese), Horta (Azores), Portugal: Direcção Regional do Turismo dos Açores
Dias, Pedro (2008), Arte de Portugal no Mundo - Açores (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: Público - Comunicação Social S.A.
Oliveira, Carlos Guedes; Lucas, Arcindo R.A.; Guedes, J.H. Correia; Andrade, Rui (1992), Metodologias para a quantificação dos dados observados no parque monumental, in 10 Anos após o sismo dos Açores de 1 de Janeiro de 1980, vol. 2, Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 743–791{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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