The Romans called Mons Lunae, The Mountains of the Moon, to Sintra’s mountain. In addition, the name Sintra descends of Cynthia, designation of the moon in adoring rites.

During the Period of the Saracen domain, it was built the Castle of the Moorish and the Royal Palace of the Moorish Princes, now called National Palace of Sintra.  After the Conquer, Sintra was given to the army of the King Afonso Henriques in 1147 that donated the Charter to the thirty inhabitants that occupied the Castle’s citadel.
Later, when Sainted Queen Isabel was in charge of the village, there were great works to enlarge the Royal Palace. However, King Manuel, not satisfied with it, promoted new works of enlargement and decor, followed by the literary and cultural development, during the 16th century.
It is known, despite not proven, that Luis de Camões read the original poems of Os Lusíadas to the King Sebastião in one wing of the Royal Palace.
This century meant the greatest development for Sintra, which was at that time the place where decision power of the Kingdom was established.
In the 19^th century, the King Fernando II, made the ordered forestation of the mountain and supported the construction of amazing and revivalist buildings, such as the Palace of Pena. This is a model of the European romantic style, due to the mix of exotic and medieval styles.

On 6 December 1995, UNESCO approved Sintra’s classification of Wold Heritage in the Cultural Landscape category.  
This area is all the way from the village to the Pena Park, going to Santa Maria de Arrabalde and the Castle of the Moorish. This zone comprises the area from the Village with the Pena Park, going through Santa Maria de Arrabalde and the Castle of the Moorish. It encloses all the Northern side of the mountain until the Monastery of Capuchos and the Monserrate Park, and all the way down until Colares village.