Museum sights in Faro
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A
Sé
The sé was completed in 1251, on what was probably the site of a Roman temple, then a Visigoth cathedral and then a Moorish mosque. Only the tower gate and several chapels remain of the original Romanesque-Gothic exterior – the rest was devoured in 1755. It was rebuilt in a polygamy of Gothic, Renaissance and baroque styles, with intense gilded carving alongside elaborate tilework inside. The baroque organ is worth noting. Climb up to the rooftop miradouro (lookout) for views across the pretty walled town to the sea. If you’re lucky, you might see storks nesting in the bell towers. The cathedral buildings also house the Museu Capitular, with an assortment of sacred a…
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B
Museu Municipal
Faro’s domed and splendid 16th-century Renaissance Convento de Nossa Senhora da Assunção, in what was once the Jewish quarter, houses the Museu Municipal, formerly called the Museu Arqueológico. Highlights are the 3rd-century Mosaic of the Ocean, found in 1976 on a building site; 9th- to 13th-century domestic Islamic artefacts; and works by a notable Faro painter, Carlos Filipe Porfírio, depicting local legends. Ask for the informative pamphlets in English about some of the exhibits, including the interesting Paths of the Roman Algarve, an atmospheric display of large rocks and plinths, and Walks Around the Historic Centre (The Inward Village).
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C
Museu Regional do Algarve
Elements of old peasant life – such as a small fishing boat and a wooden water cart (used until the owner’s death in 1974) – are on display at the Museu Regional do Algarve. There are also enigmatically labelled displays of ceramics, fabrics and dioramas of typical interiors.
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D
Convento de Nossa Senhora da Assunção
Next to the cathedral is the stately 16th-century Convento de Nossa Senhora da Assunção, now housing the Museu Municipal.
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