Mexilhoeira Grande () is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the municipality (''

concelho Concelho () is the Portuguese-language term for municipality, referring to the territorial subdivision in local government. In comparison, the word ''município'' () refers to the organs of State. This differentiation is still in use in Portugal a ...

'') of

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

in the southern Portuguese region of the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

. The population in 2011 was 4,029,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 91.15 km².

Geography

Mexilhoeira Grande is situated in the north of the municipality of Portimão, primarily encompassing rural lands comprising white-painted homes, traditionally agricultural in character. It is bordered in the north by Monchique, by Portimão in the east, Alvor to the south, and by the parishes of Odiáxere, Bensafrim and Marmelete, in the north and northwest, respectively.

Economy

The region's economy is primarily agricultural-based, although tourism has an important influence on local revenues. The

Autódromo Internacional do Algarve The Algarve International Circuit ( pt, Autódromo Internacional do Algarve), commonly referred to as Portimão Circuit, is a race circuit located in Portimão, Algarve region, Portugal. The development includes a karting track, off-road tra ...

, is the natural gateway to the region; situated in an area of plains, approximately to the north of the parish, it is interconnected by variants of the ''Estrada Nacional'' EN125.

Architecture

Prehistoric

Megalithic Monuments of Alcalar The Megalithic Monuments of Alcalar ( pt, Monumentos Megalíticos de Alcalar) are a group of burial tombs that comprise a Calcolithic necropolis, located in the civil parish of Mexilhoeira Grande, municipality of Portimão, Portugal. History D ...

(, likely constructed between in the third millennium BCE and 1600 BCE, at the height of the Calcolithic, consisting of several burial mounds/tombs, that were later acquired by the State, with formal excavations beginning at the end of the 20th century;

Archaeological

Roman ruins of Quinta da Abicada Abicada (Villa Romana de Abicada or Estação romana da Quinta da Abicada) is the name of Roman ruins in Mexilhoeira Grande, to the north of the civil parish of Alvor, municipality of Portimão, in Algarve region, Portugal. In Roman times it ...

(, from excavations carried out by José Leite de Vasconcelos (1917) and José Formosinho Sanches (1938), it was determined that this Roman centre dates back to the 1st century;

Civic

* Railway Station of Mexilhoeira Grande (), constructed in the turn-of-the century, the railway station is typical design for the period, but was redesigned to act as the ''Centro de Interpretação Ambiental da Ria de Alvor'' (''Environmental Interpretative Centre for the Alvor River'');

Religious

* Chapel of Nossa Senhora dos Passos () a Baroque-era chapel with Neo-classical lines, the small temple consists of a space with simple vaulted-ceiling, with many 19th century decorations, including tympanium in the principal portico and neoclassical retable; * Church of Figueira () * Church of the Misericórdia (), the single-nave 15th-century church, was founded after the establishment of the ''Misericórdia'', the local benevolent and social society; * Church of Nossa Senhora da Assunção (), the parochial church of Mexilhoeira Grande, this church is recognized for its

Manueline The Manueline ( pt, estilo manuelino, ), occasionally known as Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese architectural style originating in the 16th century, during the Portuguese Renaissance and Age of Discoveries. Manuel ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

elements, that include an interior of three naves, separated by arches, it tower and triumphal archways and main Renaissance-era portico and northern arched

apse chapel An apse chapel, apsidal chapel, or chevet is a chapel in traditional Christian church architecture, which radiates tangentially from one of the bays or divisions of the apse. It is reached generally by a semicircular passageway, or ambulatory, ext ...

; * Church of Nossa Senhora de Verde (), constructed in the 15th century, the single nave temple is in considerable ruins, resulting in the closing of the process of classification by the Director of IGESPAR, ''"not just the state of conservation of the building, but also the fact that it was not possible, actually, classify the structure for municipal use"'';

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mexilhoeira Grande (Portimao) Parishes of Portimão