Faro, Portugal
Encyclopedia
Faro (ˈfaɾu) is the southernmost city in Portugal
. It is located in the Faro Municipality
in southern Portugal
. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region. The Algarve and Faro district cover the same territory.
The Ria Formosa
lagoon attracted human occupants from the Palaeolithic age until the end of pre-history. During that time a settlement grew up – Ossonoba – which was an important town during the period of Roman
occupation and, according to historians, the forerunner of present-day Faro. From the 3rd century onwards and during the Visigothic period it was the site of an Episcopal see
.
With the advent of Moorish
rule in the 8th century Ossonoba retained its status as the most important town in the southwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula
. In the 9th century it became the capital of a short-lived princedom and was fortified with a ring of defensive walls. At this time the name Santa Maria began to be used instead of Ossonoba. Later on the town was known as Harun (from a local Muslim
chieftain), hence its current name, Faro. During the 500 years of Moorish rule there were some Jewish inhabitants in Faro who wrote copies of the Old Testament
. One of Faro's historical names in Arabic is أخشونبة. The Moors
were defeated by the forces of the Portuguese King Afonso III
in 1249. With the decline of the importance of the city of Silves, Faro took over the role of administration of the Algarve area.
The Earl of Essex
sacked the town in 1596 and seized the library of the Bishop of Faro. These books were later donated to the University of Oxford
, becoming part of the Bodleian Library
.
Lagos
had become the capital of the historical province of Algarve in 1577 and remained so until 1756, the year following the destruction of much of the town by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake
. The earthquake damaged several areas in the Algarve, where a tsunami
dismantled some coastal fortresses and, in the lower levels, razed houses. Almost all the coastal towns and villages of the Algarve were heavily damaged, except Faro, which was protected by the sandy banks of Ria Formosa
lagoon. Since then Faro has been the administrative seat of the region.
(the University of the Algarve
), an international airport
(Faro airport
), a seaport, a marina
, a railway station and complete inter-regional bus services.
Its 30,000-seater stadium Estádio Algarve
, shared by the neighboring cities of Faro and Loulé
, was one of the venues of the Euro 2004. It currently stands vacant, but locals hope that a football team will finally give use to the stadium. Louletano Desportos Clube (a club from the city of Loulé
) and Sporting Clube Farense (from Faro), are not enough to use such a big stadium; instead they use smaller municipal stadiums. The stadium is also used to host concerts, festivals and other events.
Faro airport
is not too far away from the city itself. In recent years the numbers of visitors traveling through the airport has increased as more and more low-cost airlines compete to offer cheap flights to the Algarve. The transport facilities to and from Faro airport with the centre of Faro include taxicab
s and a bus line.
(Köppen climate classification
: Csa) and it borders on a semi-arid climate (BSh). Summers are warm to hot and sunny with average daytime temperatures of 27 –. The Algarve weather in the autumn and winter months is generally mild with temperatures around 8 –. Faro gets most of its rainfall over the winter months; rain is very rare between June and September. The annual average temperature is around 17 °C (62.6 °F) - 18 °C (64.4 °F) and the annual rainfall is around 500 mm (19.69 in). The average sea surface temperature is 15–16 °C (59–60.8 F) in January rising to 22–23 °C (71.6–73.4 F) in August.
for being one of the biggest of its kind.
The city holiday is on 7 September.
The students' festival (Semana Académica da Universidade do Algarve), organized every year by students from the University of the Algarve
, is also an important event in Faro.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. It is located in the Faro Municipality
Faro Municipality
Faro Municipality is located in Faro District in Portugal and contains the city of Faro....
in southern Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region. The Algarve and Faro district cover the same territory.
History
Ria Formosa
The Ria Formosa lagoon, located in Algarve, in southern Portugal, is a system of barrier islands that communicates with the sea through 6 inlets. Five of these inlets are natural and have mobility characteristics...
lagoon attracted human occupants from the Palaeolithic age until the end of pre-history. During that time a settlement grew up – Ossonoba – which was an important town during the period of Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
occupation and, according to historians, the forerunner of present-day Faro. From the 3rd century onwards and during the Visigothic period it was the site of an Episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
.
With the advent of Moorish
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
rule in the 8th century Ossonoba retained its status as the most important town in the southwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
. In the 9th century it became the capital of a short-lived princedom and was fortified with a ring of defensive walls. At this time the name Santa Maria began to be used instead of Ossonoba. Later on the town was known as Harun (from a local Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
chieftain), hence its current name, Faro. During the 500 years of Moorish rule there were some Jewish inhabitants in Faro who wrote copies of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
. One of Faro's historical names in Arabic is أخشونبة. The Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
were defeated by the forces of the Portuguese King Afonso III
Afonso III of Portugal
Afonso III , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , the Bolognian , the fifth King of Portugal and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249...
in 1249. With the decline of the importance of the city of Silves, Faro took over the role of administration of the Algarve area.
The Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
sacked the town in 1596 and seized the library of the Bishop of Faro. These books were later donated to the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, becoming part of the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
.
Lagos
Lagos, Portugal
Lagos is a municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal....
had become the capital of the historical province of Algarve in 1577 and remained so until 1756, the year following the destruction of much of the town by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake
1755 Lisbon earthquake
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that took place on Saturday 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by fires and a tsunami, which almost totally destroyed Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and...
. The earthquake damaged several areas in the Algarve, where a tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
dismantled some coastal fortresses and, in the lower levels, razed houses. Almost all the coastal towns and villages of the Algarve were heavily damaged, except Faro, which was protected by the sandy banks of Ria Formosa
Ria Formosa
The Ria Formosa lagoon, located in Algarve, in southern Portugal, is a system of barrier islands that communicates with the sea through 6 inlets. Five of these inlets are natural and have mobility characteristics...
lagoon. Since then Faro has been the administrative seat of the region.
Facilities
The city has a public universityPublic university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
(the University of the Algarve
University of the Algarve
The University of the Algarve is a Portuguese public university with administrative and financial autonomy. Its two campuses and the central administration are located in Faro, the capital city of the Algarve region. It has about 9,000 students.- History and organisation :It was founded at the end...
), an international airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
(Faro airport
Faro Airport
-Incidents and accidents:*On 21 December 1992, Martinair Flight 495 skidded off the runway in bad weather at Faro Airport killing 54 passengers and two crew out of a total of 340 people on board....
), a seaport, a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
, a railway station and complete inter-regional bus services.
Its 30,000-seater stadium Estádio Algarve
Estádio Algarve
The Estádio Algarve is an association football stadium in Loulé, Portugal. The home teams are Sporting Clube Farense, who play in the Portuguese Third Division and Louletano Desportos Clube, who play in the Portuguese Second Division Serie D...
, shared by the neighboring cities of Faro and Loulé
Loulé
Loulé is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 764.2 km² and a total population of 62,295 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 12,103.The municipality is composed of 11 parishes, and is located in the District of Faro....
, was one of the venues of the Euro 2004. It currently stands vacant, but locals hope that a football team will finally give use to the stadium. Louletano Desportos Clube (a club from the city of Loulé
Loulé
Loulé is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 764.2 km² and a total population of 62,295 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 12,103.The municipality is composed of 11 parishes, and is located in the District of Faro....
) and Sporting Clube Farense (from Faro), are not enough to use such a big stadium; instead they use smaller municipal stadiums. The stadium is also used to host concerts, festivals and other events.
Faro airport
Faro Airport
-Incidents and accidents:*On 21 December 1992, Martinair Flight 495 skidded off the runway in bad weather at Faro Airport killing 54 passengers and two crew out of a total of 340 people on board....
is not too far away from the city itself. In recent years the numbers of visitors traveling through the airport has increased as more and more low-cost airlines compete to offer cheap flights to the Algarve. The transport facilities to and from Faro airport with the centre of Faro include taxicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
s and a bus line.
Climate
Faro has a moderate Mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
: Csa) and it borders on a semi-arid climate (BSh). Summers are warm to hot and sunny with average daytime temperatures of 27 –. The Algarve weather in the autumn and winter months is generally mild with temperatures around 8 –. Faro gets most of its rainfall over the winter months; rain is very rare between June and September. The annual average temperature is around 17 °C (62.6 °F) - 18 °C (64.4 °F) and the annual rainfall is around 500 mm (19.69 in). The average sea surface temperature is 15–16 °C (59–60.8 F) in January rising to 22–23 °C (71.6–73.4 F) in August.
Nature
Faro is located next to the Ria Formosa lagoon, a nature reserve of over 170 square kilometers and a stopping place for hundreds of different species of birds during the spring and autumn migratory periods. The beach is roughly seven kilometers from the city, and consists of a long sandy spit reached through a bridge.Events
The Faro International Motorcycle Rally is a famous festival, renowned in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for being one of the biggest of its kind.
The city holiday is on 7 September.
The students' festival (Semana Académica da Universidade do Algarve), organized every year by students from the University of the Algarve
University of the Algarve
The University of the Algarve is a Portuguese public university with administrative and financial autonomy. Its two campuses and the central administration are located in Faro, the capital city of the Algarve region. It has about 9,000 students.- History and organisation :It was founded at the end...
, is also an important event in Faro.
Town twinning
- HuelvaHuelvaHuelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
, - MálagaMálagaMálaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
, - TripoliTripoli, LebanonTripoli is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in Lebanon. Situated 85 km north of the capital Beirut, Tripoli is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District. Geographically located on the east of the Mediterranean, the city's history dates back...
,
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, (since 1954) - BolamaBolamaBolama is the closest of the Bijagós Islands to the mainland of Guinea-Bissau, and is also the name of the island's main town, the capital of the Bolama Region. Population 10,014 ....
,