Maquinez Palace

The Palace of Maquinezes or Palacio dos Maquinezes was built in 1702 and originally belonged to two brothers, Diago da Costa de Ataide e Tieve (a squadron leader) and Cristovam da Cost de Ataide e Tieve, known by the name of Maquinezes. In 1842, the Portuguese used the nearly 150-year old Palace to house a medical institution -- Goa Medical College which was later occupied by the Dept of Food and Drugs Administration, Govt of Goa. Today, in its new refurbished avatar, the Palacio dos Maquinezes now house’s the offices of the Entertainment Society of Goa, and the organizational partners of the International Film Festival of India, the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) and Press Information Bureau (PIB).

The current Palace is developed into two main areas:

1st Floor:
• Offices of the Entertainment Society of Goa
• Two theatres namely:
• Auditorium I (235 seating capacity)
• Auditorium II (75 seating capacity)
• 3 viewing rooms
• Electrical and services areas
• Lounge areas

1st Floor:
• Offices of Press Information Bureau (PIB)
• Press briefing room
• Media Centre
• Conference room

The Palace of Maquinezes also houses an 18th century chapel which was built in 1720 and dedicated to Nossa Senhora das Doris (Our Lady of Sorrows). It was a private chapel of the Maquinez Palace. Subsequently, in1781 the chapel was repaired and re-constructed and dedicated to Nossa Senhora de Victoria (Our Lady of Victory). The chapel houses an 18th century exquisitely decorated teak wood altar with gilded work dedicated to Christ. It continues to serve the community till date.

Media Centre Facilities:
The following facilities will be made available at the Media Centre for the smooth flow of media related functions:

• Special accreditation desk
• Information desk
• Work stations with high speed Internet access (2Mbps in the ratio of 1:1)
• Translation cells
• PCO booth
• Switches for Laptops
• Pigeon holes for individual journalists