The original entrance to Quinta das Glicínias, on the north side, overlooking the Água da Prata Aqueduct, consists of a stone doorway and a circular pediment centred by an opulent granite scallop and side pilasters ending in stylised beams. It dates from 1766 and its railing is made of wrought iron. This gate led to a long, dark tunnel of trees with cedars, carob trees and laurels, some of which are centuries old, flanked by benches for resting. Quinta das Glicínias is a manor house built on the back of one of the gentle plateaus of S. Bento de Cástris, overlooking the extinct Cistercian convent of that name. It is very beautiful and comfortable and the view from its terraces of the city and neighbouring fields is unparalleled in the entire suburban area of Évora. It was the property of the Palhas heirs, descendants of Rui Palha, whose daughter, D. Bianca de Almeida, had a manor house within the walls, on the site where Cardinal-King D. Henrique founded, in 1578, the College of S. Paulo, of the Congregation of the hermits of Serra de Ossa.
The current house, from the time of D. José, seems to have been founded by the prebendary canon of the Cathedral, António Pereira Palha, a priest of great local prestige.