The Algarve History Association is this month organising three events on varied subjects.
Starting on November 13, Rachel Barnard will be talking about Arraiolos carpets in the Municipal Library in Lagoa, from 6pm.
After beginning her career in the performing arts, Rachel graduated with a Social Sciences degree followed by a M.A. in Latin American Politics.
Her interest in, and purchase of, Arraiolos carpets began over 20 years ago on a strictly aesthetic basis when she acquired her first carpet. Although no expert on this subject, Rachel has employed her academic research skills to prepare this talk.
The weaving of Arraiolos Carpets represents an outstanding example of Portuguese creativity in the area of handicrafts. The origin and history of this technique reveal a fascinating perspective on Portuguese life and culture.
Rachel Barnard will cover these themes in her talk as well as the recent threats to the conservation and preservation of this unique Portuguese textile manufacture.
 Peter Booker will take you on a guided walk to the Roman ruins of Milreu |
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Then on Thursday, November 15, Algarve History Association co-founder Peter Kingdon Booker will be leading a walk to the Roman Ruins of Milréu.
Participants should meet at 3pm at the entrance to the site in Estoi.
While we know little of the political arrangements of the Algarve during the time of the Roman Empire, we can tell that Milreu was an important example of a Roman-era villa and farm. The site was occupied over a considerable period of time, but was suddenly abandoned.
Peter will discuss the centuries when the site was built, how it was developed and the reasons behind its probable abandonment.
It was occupied during the palaeo-Christian period and, much later on, a farm building was erected over a part of the site. Peter will also discuss the relative importance of Milreu among the Roman remains of southern Iberia. The discovery of the site in the 19th century by the Tavira archaeologist Estácio da Veiga and the misapprehensions concerning its role in the Algarve will round off what promises to be an interesting Roman afternoon.
Dinner will be served after the guided walk at the VTerra Restaurant in Estoi and there will be live music in the cavern after dinner.
On Monday, November 19, nature lover Clive Viney will address an audience on the subject of ‘Algarve Wildlife: What to Look for in Winter’ at the Municipal Library in Tavira, from 6pm.
The Algarve winter has colourful surprises for us – fungi, lichens, butterflies, and birds about to assume their spring plumage. In the plant world, the ubiquitous Bermuda buttercup adds splashes of yellow to the landscape, while the orange trees are darkly green and orange.
Flowering borage seems bluer than the Algarve sky and the blossoming almonds resemble Scandinavian snowscapes in Algarvian myths. Join Clive Viney for the last of his four talks on the natural history of the Algarve.
lynne.booker@iol.pt (registration)
