Visit Tavira

The Palácio da Galeria is the city’s most important civil building. It was remodeled during the 18th century under the guidance of Diogo Tavares de Ataíde, who designed a monumental baroque facade and kept the famous scissor-braced roofs. It was recuperated in 2001 to be used for cultural purposes, as an exhibition center and as the future City Museum.

Lavishly decorated in Rococo style, the Church of the Third Order of Carmo is of particular interest due to its gilt-carved retables and the Illusionist painting on the chancel ceiling. Tavira’s military tradition is clearly visible in the coastline fortifications and the Atalaia Barracks, built on the orders of D. Maria I in 1795, as a result of the need to reinforce the city’s defenses in the light of approaching attacks.

From the 19th century, we may appreciate the “iron architecture” at the Ribeira Market and the Coreto
Garden, which constituted a new area for socialising in the city. Over the last years, the recuperation and conversion of the Convent of Our Lady of Grace into a pousada (Architect João Campos) and the conversion of the former prison into the Álvaro de Campos Municipal Library (Architect Carrilho da Graça) deserve a special mention.

Tavira’s monuments recount the important history of a city that was the largest in the Algarve in the 16th century. The Port of Tavira harboured the Portuguese fleet that patrolled the Strait of Gibraltar and supplied the markets of North Africa. It was a busy maritime commercial hub where fish, salt, citrus fruit, figs and almonds were exchanged for products from Flanders, India, China…

A number of writers have drawn attention to the city’s “oriental atmosphere”, unique to the region. The influence of the old port?

Visitors will find the remains of Phoenician walls in the open air to the rear of the Tourist Office. These will give rise to the Tavira Museum’s Phoenician Section. A series of “holy wells” dedicated to underground divinities can be visited in the atrium of the Palácio da Galeria.

Islamic Tavira will be made known at a section scheduled to open in the forthcoming months and where the famous “Tavira vase” will be exhibited. For the time being, apart from some 12th century Islamic wall coverings, a museum exhibit of an Almohad neighborhood can be seen at the Pousada/ Convento da Graça.

Tavira Castle, home to many alcaides and Christian governors, now has a landscaped garden, affording a panoramic view over the city, the river and the ocean.

St. Mary’s Church, built in the 13th century, was rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake, based on a neoclassic project by Italian Francisco Fabri, who traveled from the Algarve to Lisbon to build the Ajuda Palace.

The portal of the Misericórdia Church, built by master stonemason André Pilarte, who worked on the Jerónimos Monastery, and considered the most noteworthy example of Renaissance architecture in the Algarve, features imaginative Italian-style motives.

Every Saturday in the months of July, August and September, the Palácio da Galeria/Municipal Museum of Tavira invites you on four strolls through the city. Respecting a chronological order and aiming, globally, at telling part of the history of Tavira using its urban and architectural forms as a starting point, each itinerary is equally autonomous.

Tavira Medieval

05 July * 02 August * 06 September
Urban route that explains the fortified walls from the Islamic Period. From the Christian Period, two “neighbourhoods” will be visited: Mouraria Arab Quarters and the S. Francisco Convent.

Tavira of the Discoveries

12 July * 09 August * 13 September
At the end of the Middle Ages the city expands the walls and approaches the river and the sea – it is the beginning of the Discoveries, in whose process Tavira played a crucial role. What has changed in the city? How did the Manuelino style appear and later the Renaissance come about?

Baroque Tavira

19 July * 16 August * 20 September
From the 17th century, the churches changed their interiors into “treasures of gold and porcelain”. How did the new trend manifest itself outside the churches? Why is the urban landscape of Tavira dotted with towers and domes? How are the Baroque shapes and forms reflected in the city’s convents and palaces?

Contemporary Tavira

26 July * 23 August * 27 September
In 19th century Tavira, the construction of the Jardim do Coreto (Bandstand Garden), a place where one would go only to stroll, to See and be Seen! marks the committing of a space associated with new social habits. This is the starting point for a route through 20th century architecture where we come face to face with the “confrontation” between modernist architecture and the so called “português suave” architecture.

Organized by:
Palácio da Galeria
Museu Municipal de Tavira

Start: 6:30 pm
Exceptionally, on 5 July, the visit will start at 5:30 pm
Duration: approx. 1 hour
Meeting Point: Palácio da Galeria/ MMT
Maximum recommended: 40 people
Guide: Rita Manteigas — Art Historian
Free

Informations:
Serviço Educativo do Palácio da Galeria/ MMT
Tel: +351 281 320 500 (ext. 324)
edu.museus[at]cm-tavira.pt