| Many consider Tavira the most beautiful city in the Algarve. Unspoiled by thoughtless urban development, the city is bisected by the gently flowing river Séquia Pleasant 18th century houses, with triple gabled roofs line the river banks and 37 churches in a general atmosphere of tranquil calm. |
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| The city is bisected by the gently flowing river Séquia, which for some strange reason undergoes a name-change on passing beneath the Roman bridge and goes flowing out to the sea under the name of Gilão. |
| It is said that because Tavira contains so many churches (37 of them!) not content with baptising the population, they baptise the river too. Pleasant 18th century houses, with triple gabled roofs line the river banks and in general there is an atmosphere of tranquil calm - try taking a stroll on the riverside broad-walk, under the palm trees, near the bandstand, in the late afternoon and observe the reflections of the opposite bank in the glassy water. |
| There is, however the occasional club, bar or nightspot, should one feel the need and the Ilha de Tavira (Island of Tavira) accessible from the city by a very short boat trip has one of the best and longest beaches in the Algarve. |
| Tavira is one of the oldest settlements of the Algarve, tracing its history back to the Neolithic period. Later came the Phoenicians, Carthaginians and the Greeks. Modern Tavira, however is said to be at least part heir to the old Roman settlement of Balsa, the remains of which lie some 3 km to the west near Santa Luzia. |
| The Roman bridge built at Tavira (then called Tabira) has seven arches and formed part of the road between Baesuris (Castro Marim) and Ossónoba (Faro). During the 8th century, along with the rest of the Algarve (and nearly the whole of the Iberian Peninsula) Tavira was occupied by the Moors who fortified the city (improving on what the Romans and the Visigoths had managed to build), constructed a castle and two mosques. |
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In 1238, Tavira was conquered by Dom Paio Peres Correia of the Knights of Santiago. The strange stone head on the corner of the Town Hall at Tavira is said to be a likeness of him, set at the actual height that he had stood in life. By all accounts he was a very tall man, but can he have been that tall?
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| As the closest Portuguese port to Morocco, Tavira became the base for expeditions into North Africa against the Moors and by 1520 it was the most densely populated city in the Algarve and very wealth. Unfortunately, a combination of factors caused the decline of the city starting with an end to North African campaigning in the early 1600’s followed by the plague in 1645 and the good old earthquake of 1755, which flattened it. |
| Apart from a few notable surviving examples, such as the wonderful Renaissance doorway of the Church of the Misericordia, the city we see today is largely the result of rebuilding since 1755. |