History

The Roman settlement of Balsa was just down the road from Tavira, near Santa Luzia (3km southwest). Ponte Romana, the seven-arched bridge the Romans built at Tavira (which was then called Tabira), was an important link in the route between Baesuris (Castro Marim) and Ossonoba (Faro).

In the 8th century the Moors occupied Tavira. They built the castle, probably on the site of a Roman fortress, and two mosques. In 1242 Dom Paio Peres Correia reconquered the town. Those Moors who remained were segregated into the mouraria (segregated Moorish quarter) outside the town walls.

As the Portuguese port closest to the Moroccan coast, Tavira became important during the Age of Discovery, serving as a base for expeditions to North Africa, with a hospital, and supplying provisions (especially salt, wine and dried fish). Its maritime trade also expanded, with exports of salted fish, almonds, figs and wine to northern Europe. By 1520 it had become the Algarve’s most populated settlement and was raised to the rank of city.

Decline began in the early 17th century when the North African campaign was abandoned and the Rio Gilão became so silted up that large boats couldn’t enter the port. Things got worse when the plague struck in 1645, followed by the 1755 earthquake.

After briefly producing carpets in the late 18th century, Tavira found a more stable income in its tuna fishing and canning industry, although this too declined in the 1950s. Today, tourists have taken the place of fish as the biggest source of town income.