Queen D. Maria I ordered its construction in 1787 near the Paço de Belém. However, it was only finished during D. Miguel’s kingdom. It was designed by the Italian Giovanni Giacomo Azzolini in collaboration with Domingos da Silva Raposo. With sober lines and neo-classical decoration and taste, the building matched the practical and theoretical demands of its purpose. Until the mid nineteenth-century it was also used for equestrian art events. After the decline of this activity in 1905, the queen adapted the royal ring into the Royal Coach Museum, later named the National Coach Museum.