Tavira
Tavira | |
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UTC±00:00 (WET) | |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+01:00 (WEST) |
Website | www.cm-tavira.pt/ |
Tavira (Portuguese pronunciation: [tɐˈviɾɐ] ⓘ) is a Portuguese town and municipality, capital of the Costa do Acantilado, situated in the east of the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal.[1] It is 28 kilometres (17 miles) east of Faro and 75 kilometres (47 miles) west of Huelva across the river Guadiana into Spain. The Gilão River meets the Atlantic Ocean in Tavira. The population in 2011 was 26,167,[2] in an area of 606.97 km2.[3] Tavira is the Portuguese representative community for the inscription of the Mediterranean Diet as a Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO.[4]
History
Bronze Age to the Roman Empire
Tavira's origins date back to the late
It is thought its original name was Baal Saphon, named after the Phoenician Thunder and Sea god. The Romans later called it Balsa.[6]
After laying abandoned for a century, it was revived and became an even larger settlement during the so-called Tartessian Period of Tavira, was again abandoned by the end of the 4th century BC. Another urban center emerged at nearby Cerro do Cavaco, a fortified hill occupied until the time of Emperor Augustus.
The Roman Empire to the Moorish Conquest
During the time of Caesar, the Romans created a new port, some 7 kilometres (4 miles) from Tavira, named Balsa. Balsa became a big town, in fact much bigger than Tavira, that grew, prospered and decayed in parallel with the Roman Empire. When the Moors conquered Iberia, in the 8th century, Balsa was already extinct as a town.
Under Roman rule, Tavira was a secondary passing place on the important road between Balsa and Baesuris (today Castro Marim).
Moorish Rule
The Moorish occupation of Tavira between the 8th and 13th centuries left its mark on the agriculture, architecture and culture of the area. That influence can still be seen in Tavira today with its whitewashed buildings, Moorish style doors and rooftops. The
The Reconquista
In 1242 Dom Paio Peres Correia took Tavira back from the Moors in a bloody conflict of retaliation after seven of his principal Knights were killed during a period of truce. Dom Paio's Christian troops decimated most of Tavira's population and the few survivors were kept in a tiny quarter known as "Mouraria".
The 1755 earthquake
In the 18th century, the port on its river was of considerable importance for shipping produce such as salt, dried fish and wine. Like most of the Algarve, its buildings were virtually all destroyed by the earthquake of 1755. This earthquake is thought to have reached 8.5–9.0 on the moment magnitude scale and caused extensive damage throughout the Algarve due to high intensity shaking (XI (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale) and tsunamis.
The earthquake is referred to as the Lisbon earthquake due to its terrible effects on the capital city, although the epicentre was some 200 km (124 mi) west-southwest of Cape St. Vincent in the Algarve region.
Demographics
Pop. Tavira Municipality (1801–2011) | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1801 | 1849 | 1900 | 1930 | 1940 | 1960 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2008 | 2011 |
10 557 | 14 162 | 25 392 | 27 786 | 28 920 | 27 798 | 24 615 | 24 857 | 24 997 | 25 394 | 26 167 |
Tavira today
The city has since been rebuilt with many fine 18th-century buildings along with its 37 churches. A bridge links the two parts of the town across the
At one time fishing was the area's primary industry but that declined, partly due to the changing migration patterns of tuna fish and advancing silt in the river Gilão.[7][8]
The population is in the region of 25,000 inhabitants (municipality of Tavira) supporting a military base. Although still relatively untouched by mass tourism, there are several golf courses in the vicinity. The local beach lies past the salt pans and can be reached via the nearby
In recent years the Gran Plaza shopping centre, incorporating a cinema, supermarket shops, and restaurants, was built on the outskirts of the town. House prices have increased sharply in recent years. The development of many golf clubs close to the town has also had an effect.
As one of the popular towns in the Algarve, Tavira benefits from tourism which is the primary aspect of the region's economy.
Climate
Tavira has a
Climate data for Tavira, elevation: 25 m or 82 ft, normals 1991-2020, extremes 1973-1994 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 22.0 (71.6) |
24.5 (76.1) |
28.5 (83.3) |
30.0 (86.0) |
32.6 (90.7) |
37.4 (99.3) |
39.0 (102.2) |
39.4 (102.9) |
39.2 (102.6) |
34.0 (93.2) |
28.0 (82.4) |
24.0 (75.2) |
39.4 (102.9) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 15.4 (59.7) |
16.1 (61.0) |
18.8 (65.8) |
20.7 (69.3) |
22.5 (72.5) |
27.6 (81.7) |
31.0 (87.8) |
30.3 (86.5) |
27.2 (81.0) |
22.0 (71.6) |
19.2 (66.6) |
16.5 (61.7) |
22.3 (72.1) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 11.0 (51.8) |
11.8 (53.2) |
14.1 (57.4) |
15.4 (59.7) |
17.8 (64.0) |
22.4 (72.3) |
26.0 (78.8) |
25.2 (77.4) |
21.8 (71.2) |
17.7 (63.9) |
15.0 (59.0) |
12.9 (55.2) |
17.6 (63.7) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 6.6 (43.9) |
7.6 (45.7) |
9.5 (49.1) |
10.1 (50.2) |
13.1 (55.6) |
16.2 (61.2) |
20.2 (68.4) |
19.7 (67.5) |
16.3 (61.3) |
13.3 (55.9) |
10.9 (51.6) |
9.2 (48.6) |
12.7 (54.9) |
Record low °C (°F) | −2.0 (28.4) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
0.5 (32.9) |
3.0 (37.4) |
4.2 (39.6) |
7.2 (45.0) |
9.5 (49.1) |
11.0 (51.8) |
8.4 (47.1) |
5.2 (41.4) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 56.5 (2.22) |
58.3 (2.30) |
32.8 (1.29) |
42.8 (1.69) |
20.9 (0.82) |
6.8 (0.27) |
1.7 (0.07) |
1.2 (0.05) |
14.2 (0.56) |
70.3 (2.77) |
110.9 (4.37) |
108.1 (4.26) |
524.5 (20.67) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 5.7 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 5.7 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 5.0 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 47.2 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
80 | 79 | 72 | 69 | 64 | 63 | 59 | 58 | 64 | 72 | 77 | 79 | 70 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 170.8 | 193.4 | 206.0 | 277.4 | 334.6 | 358.1 | 395.3 | 370.4 | 290.5 | 243.0 | 172.5 | 164.9 | 3,176.9 |
Percent possible sunshine | 55 | 63 | 55 | 52 | 75 | 81 | 89 | 88 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 55 | 68 |
Source 1: Météo Climat 1991-2020,[11] 1973-1994[12] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: |
Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 6 civil parishes (
Transport
Tavira has its own railway station on the line from
The A22 toll motorway passes near to the town. This offers fast road access along the Algarve coast and eastwards to Seville.
The nearest international airports are Faro and Seville.
International relations
Tavira is
- Kenitra, Morocco
- Łańcut, Poland
- Perpignan, France
- Porto Novo, Cape Verde
- Punta Umbría, Spain
- San Bartolomé de la Torre, Spain
The Associação Internacional de Paremiologia / International Association of Paremiology (AIP-IAP) is based in Tavira. It hosts an annual conference of proverb scholars in Tavira.[17]
Notable people
- The Corte-Real family nobles originated in the 14th century in Tavira
- Diogo de Mendonça Corte-Real (1658–1736) a diplomat and statesman
- Józef Karol Konrad Chełmicki (1814-1890) a Polish-born Portuguese general
- Estácio da Veiga (1828–1891) a Portuguese archeologist
- António Cabreira (1868–1953) aristocrat, mathematician, polygraph and publicist
- Álvaro de Campos (1890–1935) heteronym of the poet Fernando Pessoa, known for his powerful and wrathful writing
Sport
- Miguel Cabrita (born 1974) swimmer, competed at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics
- António Livramento (born 1982) a former footballer with 369 club caps
- João Neves (footballer) (born 2004) international footballer currently playing for Benfica
See also
References
- ISBN 3-8297-6235-6
- ^ Instituto Nacional de Estatística
- ^ "Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país". Archived from the original on 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
- ^ "Portugal's Representative Community | Dieta mediterrânica". dietamediterranica.net. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ Pappa, Eleftheria (2012) "Retracting the divisions? Fresh perspectives on Phoenician settlement in Iberia from Tavira, Portugal." TMA (Tijdschrift voor Mediterrane Archeologie / Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology) vol. 47: 7-13
- ^ Maria Giulia, Amadasi Guzzo; José-Ángel, Zamora Lopez (2008). "Un ostrakon phénicien de Tavira (Portugal)". Vicino Oriente. 14: 231.
- ^ https://wanderingportugal.com/maps/14/algarve+map, Algarve Cities and Attractions Map
- ^ http://www.ealgarve.com/destinations/tavira/, Tavira
- ^ "Ria Formosa, a Natural Park to discover in the Algarve - Formosamar".
- ^ a b "Estudo de Impacte Ambiental do Porto de Pesca de Tavira" (PDF). Portuguese Environmental Agency. p. 76. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ "Moyennes 1991/2020 Tavira". Baseline climate means (1991–2020) from stations all over the world. Météo Climat. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Extremes for Tavira". Météo Climat. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ "Plano de Gestão das Bacias Hidrográficas das Ribeiras do Algarve" (PDF). Portuguese Environmental Agency. p. 131. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ "Plano Municipal de Defesa da Floresta Contra Incêndios" (PDF). Tavira Municipality. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ Diário da República. "Law nr. 11-A/2013, pages 552 118-119" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ "Geminações". cm-tavira.pt (in Portuguese). Tavira. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
- ^ AIP-AIP