Some ancient remains
At the beginning of antiquity, the territory that corresponds to the present-day Algarve was dotted with small Iberian and Celtic villages. A few ruins in the Algarve villages still bear witness today to this first human presence on Portuguese territory. For lovers of archaeology and history, the Neolithic remains of Anta da Pedra do Alagar no Ameixial (Loulé) and Anta das Pedras Altas in Cachopo (Tavira) are not to be missed.
The Romans left Lusitania - a province in the extreme southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, founded by Augustus - not only their language, but also their architecture. At the end of ancient times and the beginning of the Middle Ages, temples, bridges, manor houses, aqueducts, theatres and amphitheatres dominated the urban landscape. Most of these monuments have disappeared over time, but some ruins such as in Milreu near Estoi recall this fallen splendour.Moorish architecture and traditional housing
Unlike the rest of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula and particularly Portugal remained little affected by Romanesque art, which therefore did not flourish. On the other hand, the country, under Moorish rule at the time (711-1249), was forever marked by the influence of a deeply Muslim architecture.
Of all the regions of Portugal, the Algarve is certainly the one that has seen its architecture most widely marked by the Moorish occupation. In addition to the fortresses of the time, the small houses with white walls and jagged chimneys populate many villages. A good example is Cacela Velha, east of Tavira.
The traditional houses of the Algarve are painted white and covered with a flat or slightly sloping roof. The rectangular shape contrasts with the bearing of some doors or corridors. One could sometimes clearly believe to be in the villages of the north of the Maghreb. These traditional houses are generally declined under the same scheme: square, painted with lime with bangs and colored moldings on the front in blue tones. The chimneys are often ornate and the roofs are terraced.
On the other hand, they know some unsuspected variants. Thus, the shape of the roofs is not always the same, sometimes flat, as in the "cube" houses of Olhão, or hipped (with four sides), in Faro and Tavira. This form of roof, inspired by Far Eastern architecture, is very well adapted to the climate of the South of Portugal, allowing a refreshing circulation of the ambient air. These characteristic roofs can still be found in three districts of Faro: Bairro da Vila-Adentro, Bairro Ribeirinho and the Moorish district, Bairro da Mouraria.
In addition, the shape of the chimneys varies: prism, square, cylinder or rectangle, there is something for everyone! They are also the most remarkable sign of the Moorish occupation on the secular habitat. True social markers, the chimneys were more or less worked according to the wealth of the owner. Generally white, we can find some ochre and even blue. It is in the lands, in Martinlongo or Monchique, that we can observe the most beautiful examples.
A relatively prosperous kingdom after the final victory over the Muslims in the 13th century, the Algarve experienced a first effervescence of the arts in the 14th and 15th centuries, with major architectural achievements built in Gothic style. As soon as the Moors left Faro, in 1249, a Gothic cathedral was built on the same site where the mosque stood, itself built on the foundations of a Roman temple. It is the Cathedral of Faro (1251).The Manueline hold
Straddling between the Gothic and modern times, the Manueline period undoubtedly offers the most specifically Portuguese aesthetics that was born among the most beautiful monuments of European cultural heritage. Although it is named after King Manuel I (1495-1521), it is to an architect of French origin, Diogo Boytac (1460-1528), that we owe the first Manueline building: the cloister of the monastery of Batalha (Estremadura). This style is an evolution from the Gothic to an ornamental form halfway to the Baroque, which it prefigures. The Manueline style offers a rather unusual mix of genres: the pillars are no longer straight, but in spirals, the door and window mouldings are decorated with rope motifs, anchors, globes, exotic flowers and, above all, the cross of Christ. This style, marked by details evoking the passion for the sea and the prosperity of the country (from the discovery of the Americas to the beginnings of the slave trade), was to disappear after the death of King Manuel I. In the Algarve, there are some examples of this movement, including the church of Carmel de Faro, whose characteristic bell towers are decorated with shells, and the pilasters that frame the door are twisted, in the purest Manueline expression. This style, which flourished throughout the maritime empire, is found identically in the Azores. In front of the church of Carmel, the same motifs can be found in the black and white paving that can be found in all Portuguese cities, like a marker on the ground to indicate the country.
As for the Renaissance, it left few traces in Portugal, and moreover in the region, first of all because of the Manueline influence during the first half of the 16th century, but also because the humanist ideals that inspired it were absent from this country marked by the red iron of the Inquisition.
Quite logically, the Baroque succeeded the Manueline style. The term "baroque" comes from the Portuguese term barroco (irregularly shaped coastal rock) in the second half of the 16th century. You should therefore expect many monuments of this style during your visit. Indeed, many of the churches built in earlier eras were renovated in the Baroque style when this was the norm. Ofparticular note is the superb chapel of São Lourenço in Almancil, or the churches of Santo António in Lagos or the Misericórdia in Monchique. It was also at this time that blue and white tiles, the famous azulejos, became part of the architectural customs.Modern and contemporary architecture
During the 19th century, successive economic and political crises led to few major architectural achievements. At the end of this century, the rising bourgeoisie fell under the spell of the Art Nouveau movement. As in Vienna, Paris or Brussels, buildings of this style were erected throughout Portugal. Many houses were covered in places (mainly chimneys) with geometric or floral motifs, as in Luz de Tavira.
During the 20th century, major urban development projects were often commissioned by authoritarian regimes. The Algarve was then quite largely forgotten. It was only through tourism from the mid-1970s onwards that the region underwent its architectural transformation, for better and often for worse. Thus, the entire coastal area stretching from Faro to Lagos became overly urbanized, mainly for tourist facilities (hotels and villas).
One can however quote an example of very original architecture of the beginning of the 20th century, the Ecoteca de Olhão, the João Lúcio Museum dedicated to fishing. The geometry of its exterior staircases and layout is confusing to say the least, although the interior is imbued with Moorish heritage.
