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Faro, Algarve, Portugal, Europe
FARO is the capital of the Algarve. Excellent beaches are within easy reach, and in summer there's quite a nightlife scene, as thousands of travellers pass through on their way to and from the airport, 6km west of town. Sacked and burned by the Earl of Essex in 1596, and devastated by the Great Earthquake of 1755, the town has few historic buildings. By far the most curious sight is the Baroque Igreja do Carmo near the central post office on Largo do Carmo. A door to the right of the altar leads to a macabre Capela dos Ossos, its walls decorated with bones disinterred from the adjacent cemetery. This aside, the most interesting buildings are all in the old, semi-walled quarter on the south side of the harbour, centred around the majestic Largo da Sé and entered through the eighteenth-century town gate, the Arco da Vila. The cathedral here was heavily remodelled after the Great Earthquake and more impressive is the nearby Museu Arqueológico, installed in a fine sixteenth-century convent. The most striking exhibit is a third-century Roman mosaic of Neptune and the four winds, unearthed near Faro train station.
Source: the web site of Rough Guides Ltd
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