The Painted Houses owe their name to the frescoes that decorate the gallery and attached oratory integrated into the garden of Centro de Arte e Cultura. This space belonged to D. Francisco da Silveira, master of the royal stud farm of the Kings D. Manuel I and D. João III. The family’s Coat of Arms can still be seen on the keystones of the vaults. This fact denies the legend that the owner of the house was the famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, whose houses were located on the south side of the same street. At the end of the 16th century, the Painted Houses were annexed to the Palace of the Inquisition, as the home of the Inquisition Court judges.