SINTRA.- This new publishing project, distributed in English, Portuguese and Spanish, represents an Open Access initiative from Parques de Sintra -Monte da Lua, designed to convey the results of recent research, studies and discoveries on the objects, characters and events surrounding the collections of the Royal Palaces of Sintra, Queluz and Pena (Portugal).

The "Collections In Focus" project is open to contributions from both recognised and emerging external researchers, invited for that purpose, from the academic, museum and heritage world. The content in this series of monographs is intended as much for researchers and scholars as it is for students interested in the history of the collections of the National Palaces of Sintra, Queluz and Pena in the hope that it may provide a stimulus and basis for future research.

The first monograph of "Collections in Focus", richly illustrated, focuses on an painting from the collections of the Portuguese Royal Household, a court portrait by the Spanish school about which little detail existed in terms of authorship, dating, context surrounding its production, prior whereabouts, the acquisition process and its incorporation into the royal collections as the "Portrait of King Sebastião of Portugal". Since 2006 it has been attributed to Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, the foremost portraitist to the Spanish court from the end of the 16th to the beginning of the 17th century in the reign of Felipe III of Spain (Filipe II of Portugal). The portrait has been associated with the National Palace of Sintra since the final years of the monarchy, during the period of Maria Pia of Savoy, the last queen of Portugal to inhabit the royal palace, from where she left in exile following the republican revolution, on 5th October 1910.

Parques de Sintra-Monte da Lua (PSML) is an entirely state owned company set up in 2000 following the UNESCO classification of the Sintra Cultural Landscape as of World Heritage status. The company is responsible for managing the most important natural and cultural sites located within the Sintra Cultural Landscape and Queluz, encompassing, amongst other monuments, the National Palaces of Sintra, Queluz and Pena.

PSML receives no state funding and hence the restoration and maintenance of the heritage and assets in its management is ensured by the revenues generated by ticket sales, stores, cafés and hiring out facilities for events. The company is a non-profit organisation with all earnings re-invested in preserving and enhancing the heritage in its care.