 In 1521, Albuquerque travelled to Italy in the company of the Infanta Beatrice, Duchess of Savoy, and spent some years there, where he observed the new trends in Renaissance architecture.The young Albuquerque, a courtier recognized for his humanist cultural leanings, was responsible for the construction of the "Quinta da Bacalhôa".It is presumed that he was influenced by urban palaces such as the Palazzo dei Diamanti (in Ferrara), so called in reference to its façade made up of thousands of small diamond-shaped pyramids.