Porches is a civil parish/

freguesia ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Port ...

in the municipality of Lagoa in Portugal, about 10 km east of the city of Lagoa. The population in 2011 was 2,011,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 15.64 km². It was elevated to the status of a town on July 12, 2001.

History

Perched on a hill on the edge of the oldest east–west road in 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 ...

is the small town of Porches. Vestiges of continuous occupation going back as far as the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

Age have been found in the area of the

. A

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be foun ...

, found in this area and dated to sometime between 5000 and 4000 BC, is now in the entrance garden of the Convent of Saint Joseph in Lagoa. According to historical sources, the actual settlement of Porches was in the middle of the 16th century, built by a group of settlers who came from an older urbanization called ''Porches Velho'', situated within the

but closer to the coast. Porches Velho had been occupied during the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

period, and in 1253 it was already a sizeable town, seat of a judicial district and with a strong medieval castle. The area of Porches is well known for its

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

, but also for its

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

pits and

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

workshops and its current inhabitants still make pottery, continuing to keep this art alive. Pottery had been re-introduced to the area when the artists

Patrick Swift Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

(who also designed the stations of the cross at Porches Church ) and Lima de Freitas set up Porches Pottery (Olaria Algarve) in 1968, which still produces handpainted pottery. With the increase in tourism the prosperity of the Porches pottery industry has returned, and both traditional designs and new artistic styles are produced. The typical Porches chimneys are original, colourful and very old. It is worth strolling through the village streets and admiring the old roofs and chimneys. Each was ordered to be built according to the wealth of the family. The master always asked how many days he wanted the chimney to be made. Depending on the working days, the more expensive, bigger and more ornate it would be. One of the most emblematic is located under the Casa Museu, on Rua da Chaminé. It features a keep, a spoked wheel and a human figure. It dates from 1793. In Travessa do Correio there is another one, from the 18th century, with four sides. Also noteworthy is the chimney of the Leão de Porches restaurant, installed in an impressive restored 18th century building. Here we find a lion crowned with vine leaves. Legend has it that many years ago a baby lion appeared in the village. The Atlantic coastal border of the Porches District is home to a thriving beach tourist industry, with numerous beaches and rocky areas with caves and arches.

Heritage Sites

* Fort of Our Lady of the Rock, also known as ''Porches castle'', with its

Marian shrine A shrine to the Virgin Mary (or Marian shrine) is a shrine marking an Marian apparitions, apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Blessed Virgin Mary, Marian devotion ...

. * Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation

References

External links

Porches Pottery (Olaria Algarve)
{{Parishes of Lagoa Parishes of Lagoa, Algarve Towns in Portugal

History

Heritage Sites

See also

References

External links