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Faro ( , ), officially the City of Faro (), is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
, the southernmost city and capital of the district of the same name, in the
Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...
region of southern
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. With an estimated population of 67,566 inhabitants in 2021 (with 39,733 inhabitants in the city proper, making it the biggest city and second most populous municipality in the Algarve (after Loulé) and one of the biggest in Southern Portugal), the municipality covers an area of about . The municipalities of Faro-Olhão-Loulé due to its adjacency, sharing of infrastructures and regular commute can be considered an intermunicipal community with a population of 184,578 inhabitants (2021). A Metro connecting this community is planned to be finished by 2029.


History

The
Ria Formosa The Ria Formosa lagoon, located in the Algarve, in southern Portugal, is a system of barrier islands that connects to the sea through six inlets. Five of these inlets are natural and have mobility characteristics. The sixth is an artificial inle ...
lagoon attracted humans from the
Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
age until the end of prehistory. The first settlements date from the fourth century BC, during the period of
Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...
n colonization of the
western Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. At the time, the area was known as Ossonoba, and was the most important urban centre of southern Portugal and commercial port for agricultural products, fish, and minerals. Between the second and eighth centuries, the city was under the domain of the Romans, then the Byzantines, and later Visigoths, before being conquered by the Arabic-speaking Muslims known as
Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...
in 713. From the third century onwards and during the
Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...
period, it was the site of an
Episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...
, the Ancient Diocese of Ossonoba (306-688). The Byzantine presence has endured in th
city walls' towers
that were built during the Byzantine period. With the advent of Moorish rule in the eighth century, Ossonoba retained its status as the most important town in the southwest corner of the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
. In the 9th century, after a revolt led by Yahia Ben Bakr who was succeeded in office by his son, Bakr Ben Yahia, it became the capital of a short-lived princedom and was fortified with a ring of defensive walls. At this time, in the 10th century, the name Santa Maria began to be used instead of Ossonoba. By the 11th century, the town was known as ''Santa Maria Ibn Harun''. During the Second Crusade soon after the Anglo-Norman forces took Lisbon in 1147 a detachment of this group sacked Faro, which was still by then under Muslim rule, on their way to the Holy Land. Again in 1217, during the
Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (September 1217 - August 29, 1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al- ...
, a
Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...
n fleet of crusaders on their way to
Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
, sacked and burned the city. During the 500 years of Moorish rule, some Jewish residents of Faro made written copies of the
Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
. The Moors were defeated and expelled in 1249 by the forces of the Portuguese King Afonso III. With the decline of the importance of the city of Silves (which was made the regional bishopric as Diocese of Silves shortly during and properly after the Reconquista), Faro took over the role of administration of the Algarve area.


Portuguese Kingdom

After Portuguese independence in 1143, Afonso Henriques and his successors began an expansion and Christian repopulation into the southern Iberian territory which had previously been occupied by the Moors. Following the conquest by D. Afonso III, in 1249, the Portuguese referred to the town as ''Santa Maria de Faaron'' or ''Santa Maria de Faaram''. In the following years, the town became prosperous, due to its secure port and exploitation of
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
. Consequently, by the beginning of the Portuguese Age of Discovery, the town was well positioned to become a leading commercial centre. In the 14th century, the
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
community began to grow in importance. In 1487, Samuel Gacon began printing the '' Pentateuco ''in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
, the first book printed in Portugal. The Jewish community of Faro had long been a dominant force in the region, with many artisans and merchants contributing heavily to the economy and city development, but this level of prosperity was interrupted in December 1496 by an edict of
Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate (), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manu ...
, expelling those who did not convert to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
. As a result, officially, Jews no longer remained in Portugal. In the place of the Jewish village of Vila Adentro, the convent of Nossa Senhora da Assunção was founded and patronised by Queen Leonor, wife of the king. Manuel I promoted the development and expansion of the city; 1499 had the construction of a hospital, the Church of Espírito Santo (or Church of the Misericórdia), a customshouse, and a slaughterhouse, all near the shoreline. By 1540,
John III of Portugal John III ( ; 6 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious ( Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarve from 1521 until he died in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of ...
had elevated Faro to the status of city, then in 1577, the bishopric of the Algarve was transferred from Silves, which retains a co-cathedral, to the present Diocese of Faro. In 1597, the city was sacked by English privateers led by
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...
. The resultant fires damaged the walls, churches, and other buildings. At the same time, English troops seized the library of the Bishop of Faro, then Fernando Martins de Mascarenhas, which eventually became part of the collection of the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
's
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
. Among the looted books was the first printed book in Portugal: a
Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
in local Hebrew (Judeo-Español), printed by Samuel Gacon at his workshop in Faro. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the city was expanded, with a series of walls during the period of the Restoration Wars (1640–1668), encompassing the semicircular front to the Ria Formosa. The western city of
Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
had become the capital of the historical province of Algarve in 1577, but this all changed with the
1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, All Saints' Day, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In ...
. It affected many settlements across the Algarve, including Faro, which suffered damage to churches, convents (specifically the Convent of São Francisco and Convent of Santa Clara), and the episcopal palace, in addition to the walls, castle towers and bulwarks, barracks, guardhouses, warehouses, customshouses, and prison. Much of the greater devastation across the coastal and lowland regions was caused by a
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
, which dismantled fortresses and razed homes. Almost all the coastal towns and villages of the Algarve were heavily damaged by the tsunami, except Faro, protected by the sandy banks of the
Ria Formosa The Ria Formosa lagoon, located in the Algarve, in southern Portugal, is a system of barrier islands that connects to the sea through six inlets. Five of these inlets are natural and have mobility characteristics. The sixth is an artificial inle ...
lagoon. With the capital Lagos devastated, Faro became the administrative seat of the region the following year, 1756.


Geography

The municipality of Faro is divided into two distinct areas, the coastline, part of the ''Parque Natural da Ria Formosa'' ( Nature Park of Ria Formosa) and the ''barrocal'', characterized by hills and valleys, populated with typical Algarvan vegetation. The nature park was created by Decree-Law 373/87, on 8 December 1987, and is considered one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal, with a beach that is around from the downtown. It includes the river and a
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...
system, interspersed with dunes, forming a small islands and peninsulas, that protect a large area of marshes, channels, and islets. The beaches in Faro are situated on the peninsula of Ancão and island of Culatra, along the corridor of the nature park. The park is a rich and complex aquatic ecosystem, consisting of barrier islands, marshes, and channels, comprising sandy shorelines that separate the waters of the Ria Formosa and Atlantic Ocean. The beaches of Faro and Barrinha/Barra de São Luís, are located on the Ancão peninsula, the beach of Barreta on the Ilha Deserta, and the beaches of Farol and Culatra are located on the Ilha Culatra. The barrier islands are separated by tidal flats and shallows, including (from west to east) the Barra do Ancão/Barra de São Luís, the Barra de Santa Maria/Barra do Farol, and the Barra da Culatra/Barra da Armona (in the municipality of Olhão). Annually, many species of aquatic migratory birds transient northern Europe and nest there during the winter. These include flamingos, terns, pied avocets, Eurasian wigeons, and common chaffinches. Within the town are gardens and open spaces, among which are the Manuel Bivar Garden, Alameda João de Deus Garden, and the Mata do Liceu. The variety of species and natural conditions result in the region being a popular ecotourism zone, promoting birdwatching, boating trips into the delta, kayaking along the Ria Formosa, pedestrian trails, and biking tours, accompanied by nature guides. The municipality is crossed by the southern ''Ecovia do Algarve'', a bicycling circuit that connects the Algarve to the rest of Europe.


Climate

Faro has a
hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Csa''), moderated by a transitioning
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
- Canary current giving a certain resemblance to
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
that is not heated in the summer by the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
like
Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...
. Given this region is highly susceptible to the difference of precipitation throughout the seasons of the year, in the future scarcity of water could appear in conjunction with the increase of temperature and less incidence of rains. Summers are warm to hot and sunny with average daytime maximum temperatures of . Summer warmth can linger well into October. The weather in the winter is generally mild by European standards, managing around 6 hours of sunshine each day, with temperatures averaging around in the coldest month. The city receives most of its rainfall over the winter; rain is scarce between June and September. The annual average temperature is around , however it is becoming hotter and hotter, reaching as high as in 2023, with average temperatures since 2010 or even since 1994 being around , and the annual rainfall is around , however in recent years, rainfall has diminished, even reaching as low as in 2019, with the average yearly rainfall from 2017 to 2021 being closer to . The average sea temperature is in January rising to in August and September. Higher sea water temperatures are reached if the weather patterns produce a significant outflow of warmer surface water out of the Mediterranean which bathe the coastal Algarve with much warmer water. During the summer months, tropical nights are common and, on average, Faro has 45 tropical nights per year, which is the highest in Portugal. Faro has the highest minimum temperature ever recorded in Portugal, which was on 26 July 2004. With over 3000 hours of sunshine a year, Faro is often regarded as one of the sunniest cities in Europe, alongside nearby Tavira. July and August have the most sunshine, while December has the least.


Human geography

Administratively, the municipality is divided into four civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Faro (Sé e São Pedro) * Conceição e Estoi * Montenegro * Santa Bárbara de Nexe


Twin towns and sister cities

Faro is twinned with: * Bolama, Guinea-Bissau *
Haikou Haikou; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanized as Hoihow is the capital city, capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. ...
, China * Hayward, United States * Huelva, Spain * Maxixe, Mozambique *
Praia Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.Príncipe Príncipe (; ) is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Cens ...
, São Tomé and Príncipe *
Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
, Morocco


Transport

Faro is served by a transport network connecting it to the Algarve, and by extension, other European markets. Faro is about 3 hours and 30 minutes by air from the principal European destinations. By car, it is about 2 hours and 30 minutes from Lisbon, along the A2, and less than 1 hour from Andalusia, along the A22.


Airport

Faro international Airport managed, as of 2024, nearly 10 million passengers, with 45 airlines serving this airport, including many low-cost airlines. In recent years, the number of visitors travelling 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 and the centre of Faro include
taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
s and a bus line.


Railway

Faro is served by the centrally located Faro railway station, and a smaller halt in the east of the city at Bom João. The main station is operated by the national railway operator Comboios de Portugal (CP), which operates the Alfa Pendular, Intercidades and CP Regional routes, as well as a special service during the summer, the InterRegional line. The Alfa Pendular service connects Faro to the North and terminates in
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
. The Intercidades and InterRegional services connect Faro to
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
. The CP Regional service operates across the east and west Algarve and connects Faro to
Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
in the west Algarve, and Vila Real de Santo António in the east Algarve. Bom João is only served by the CP Regional trains heading east. Despite the proximity of Seville, it is not connected by train.


Buses

The town is served by a public transport network that include minibuses, local bus lines, and regional services across the Algarve.


Maritime

Due to its position along the coast, a need exists to connect the shoreline communities with the outlying with various islands; with the exception of the island of Faro, most are accessible only by boat service. Throughout the year (from the commercial wharf or Portas do Mar wharf, depending on the time of year), regular and tourist services are operated along the estuary.


Metro

The Algarve Metrobus is a transport project under development which will connect the areas of Faro, Olhão and Loulé together through bus rapid transit. The metrobus will have 24 stops, including the Mar Shopping Algarve,
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
, the two campuses of the University of Algarve and Parque das Cidades ( Algarve Stadium). All this, on 100% dedicated lines, with frequencies every 12 minutes, during rush hour, and with extended opening hours.


Culture and entertainment

The Faro 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. The Faro
motorcycle club A motorcycle club is a group of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve motorcycles. A motorcycle group can range as clubbed groups of different bikes or bikers who own same model of vehicle like the Harley Owners Group. There ...
is responsible for one of the largest motorcycle events in Portugal and Europe.


Sports

A 30,000-seat stadium Estádio Algarve, shared by the cities of Faro and Loulé, was one of the venues of the
Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...
football championship. Louletano Desportos Clube (a club from the city of Loulé) and Sporting Clube Farense (from Faro) also use smaller municipal stadiums. The stadium is also used for concerts, festivals, and other events.


Notable people

* Bakr Ben Yahia, important
Marrano ''Marranos'' is a term for Spanish and Portuguese Jews, as well as Navarrese jews, who converted to Christianity, either voluntarily or by Spanish or Portuguese royal coercion, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but who continued t ...
figure in Gharb al-Andalus * Madragana (born ), mistress to king
Afonso III of Portugal Afonso IIIrare English alternatives: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 5 May 121016 February 1279), ca ...
* Brites de Almeida (born 1350), known as the Baker of Aljubarrota, a legendary figure and Portuguese heroine whose name is associated with the victory of the Portuguese, against Castilian forces, at the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385 * Francisco Barreto (1520–1573), soldier, explorer and an officer in Morocco * José Maria da Ponte e Horta (1824–1892), Portuguese noble, Governor of
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
,
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
and
Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
* Sebastião Custódio de Sousa Teles (1847–1921), senior politician and military officer * Maria Veleda (1871–1955), educator, journalist and activist * Raul Pires Ferreira Chaves (1889–1967), civil engineer and inventor * Adelino da Palma Carlos (1905–1992), first
Prime Minister of Portugal The prime minister of Portugal (; ) is the head of government of Portugal. As head of government, the prime minister coordinates the actions of ministers, represents the Government of Portugal to the other bodies of state, is accountable to Ass ...
after the
Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...
of 1974 * Carlos Quintas (born 1951), stage and TV actor and singer * Sara Martins (born 1977), Portuguese-born French actress of
Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
an descent Sara Martins, IMDb Database
retrieved 5 June 2021.
* Diogo Piçarra (born 1990), singer. He won the Portuguese version of Pop Idol in 2012.


Sport

* Manuel Balela (born 1956), football coach * Ana Dias (born 1974), long-distance and marathon runner; four-time Olympian * Rui Machado (born 1984), retired professional tennis player * Inês Murta (born 1997), tennis player *
José Rafael José António Silvestre Rafael (born 22 November 1958) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a striker. Club career After starting his professional career with local S.C. Farense in the second division, Rafael spent the followin ...
(born 1958), retired footballer


References

;Notes ;Sources *


External links


Official municipal website
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Algarve Towns of the Algarve Cities in Portugal Populated places in Faro District Port cities and towns in Portugal Seaside resorts in Portugal Municipalities of Faro District Phoenician colonies in Portugal