Algarve - Tavira - History
 
Ponte Romana Tavira
 

Romans, Phoenicians and Greeks lived, along history, in the place today known as the city of Tavira. The most notable presence was the Islamic occupation that lasted for more than five centuries (cent. VIII - XIII). There existed at this place a flourishing and well fortified settlement called Tabira, the initial name of Talabriga had changed. 


Tavira was conquered from the Moors, in 1242, by D. Paio Peres Correia, allegedly as retaliation for the death of seven of his knights. The knights’ mortal remains are buried at the Church of Santa Maria of the Castle where a tombstone still reminds us. D. Afonso III , after the conquest, rebuilt Tavira and granted it municipal autonomy in 1266. Tavira grew in importance towards the end of the 16th century, owed, above all, to its maritime expansion. Tavira, in the 16th century, was an important settlement and the most populous of the Algarve. D. Manuel I granted it, in 1520, city rights.
The 21 churches and 6 convents show, still today, the religious splendor of Tavira. The effects of a devastating plague (1645), the earthquakes registered in the 18th century (mainly the great earthquake of 1755) and the progressive silting of the harbor and the river, were the reasons behind the decline of the city. Before the almost total disappearance of the tuna at this part of the coast, Tavira was also an important center of tuna fishing. At present, the city lives in large part from a steadily growing tourism. Tavira presents monuments of a notable historical past, not forgetting its natural features, the Reserva Natural da Ria Formosa, its mountains and its beaches.
 
History of other cities : Albufeira, Alcoutim, Aljezur, Castro Marim, Faro, Lagoa, Lagos, Monchique, Portimão, São Brás de Alportel, Silves, Vila do Bispo, Vila Real de S. António, Azulejos.