D. Tomás de Almeida, first Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, acquired the land from his brother, the 3rd Count of Avintes, razing the existing buildings and building a sumptuous 18th century palace, which he then presented to his nephew, D. António de Almeida Soares de Portugal, 4th Count of Avintes and later 8th Viceroy of Brasil and 1st Marquis of Lavradio. The palace was built by German architect João Frederico Ludovice, with construction beginning in 1745. Its architecture is unique in that its focal point is a central and rigorously symmetrical staircase, from which the rest of the building extends. It serves as one of only a few examples of civic baroque architecture during Portugal's Johannine period. Despite the scale of the earthquake experienced by Lisbon in 1755, which destroyed a large part of the city, the Lavradio Palace was virtually untouched.