Works due to be completed by the end of the year
Faro municipal council has announced the start of conservation works at Arco da Vila, one of the town’s historic landmarks.
The project represents an investment of €250,000 completely funded by Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
The conservation works are expected to be completed by the end of the year and will involve a range of interventions at the iconic arch, such as correcting structural anomalies, and conserving and restoring various elements such as the roof, stonework, doorways, staircases, plaques, panels, bell, cross, clock, and other decorative features.
Says the municipal council, the project will also address the degradation of the arch’s vaults by applying plaster over the brickwork, in a bid to halt further deterioration.
Located at one of the medieval gates of the town, the arch was commissioned by Bishop D. Francisco Gomes de Avelar in the 19th century, according to the Visit Portugal website. Designed by the Italian architect Francisco Xavier Fabri, it was inaugurated in 1812.
The monument features an Italian-made statue of Saint Thomas of Aquinas, described as “one of the finest examples of the Italian neo-classical to be found across the Algarve.”
“Inside, it is still possible to make out the Arab entranceway. This was part of the old Muslim walls and represented the entranceway into the city for anyone arriving by sea. It is considered a unique example of Moorish architecture in Portugal, taking into account both its high level of preservation and that it still remains in its place of origin,” the tourism website adds.
