Palace of the Eleven Windows

The House of the Eleven Windows Cultural Space, originally known as the Palace of the Eleven Windows, is a historical and cultural complex in Belém, Pará, Brazil. Comprising a public square and an eighteenth-century building, the site has functioned as a contemporary art museum since 2002. The institution focuses on modern and contemporary Brazilian art, specifically from the North and Northeast regions, and also contains a restaurant and a multicultural area. The palace is a component of the Feliz Lusitânia historical complex, which represents the initial colonial core of Belém.

The building was constructed in the eighteenth century as a weekend residence for Domingos da Costa Bacelar, a sugarcane mill owner at the mouth of the Guamá River. In 1768, under the initiative of Governor Fernando da Costa de Ataíde e Teive de Sousa Coutinho, the government of the Captaincy of Grão-Pará acquired the palace to establish the Royal Military Hospital, the first of its kind in the expanding city. Italian architect Giuseppe Antonio Landi adapted the structure for hospital use. The hospital operated until 1870, after which the building maintained military functions, housing the Fifth Company of the Guard. During the Brazilian dictatorial period, the site served as a detention and torture center for political prisoners under the Army Subsistence. In 2001, the state government partnered with the Brazilian Army to transfer the palace and the Castle Fortress to state control for historic preservation. The palace subsequently reopened in 2002 as a museum, though it faced governmental pressure in 2016 to be converted into a gastronomic center, threatening its art collection.

Since 2002, the museum has built a substantial collection dedicated to modern and contemporary Brazilian art, with a particular emphasis on artists from the North and Northeast regions. The holdings encompass painting and photography. The institution also serves as the primary venue for the state's two largest national art awards, the Contemporary Photography Diary Award and Art Pará, maintaining an active exhibition schedule. However, the collection and the broader cultural life of Belém have faced ongoing risk due to governmental neglect and prior attempts to repurpose the space.

The museum's collection includes works by prominent modernists and contemporary artists. Key modernist figures represented include Tarsila do Amaral, Ismael Nery, Lasar Segall, and Rubens Gerchman. The contemporary and photographic holdings feature works by regional artists such as Luiz Braga, Miguel Chikaoka, Alexandre Sequeira, Elza Lima, and Walda Marques.

The two-story building exemplifies Portuguese plain style architecture on its main facade, featuring eleven symmetrically arranged openings with straight lintels, window-doors preceded by railings, and a central main door. A simple entablature divides the massive volume, which is further defined by corner pilasters. The river-facing facade is more elaborate, reflecting Landi's intervention with arched openings in the central body and open loggias on the ground floor and railed balconies above. Military adaptations had obscured these features, adding a triangular pediment flanked by obelisks to the main facade and closing the river-side openings. These alterations were reversed during restorations in the 2000s. The surrounding area includes a Sculpture Garden, the Corveta ship, a stage projecting over the bay, and views of Guajará Bay and the Ver-o-Peso Market.

The Palace of the Eleven Windows is located in the Cidade Velha district of Belém, Pará, Brazil. The property is owned by the Government of Pará and operates as part of the Feliz Lusitânia tourist, architectural, and landscape complex, which is protected by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage. In addition to the museum, the site houses the Boteco das Onze restaurant.