Situated
in the extreme Southwest of the Algarve, region of Portugal, Lagos
was born under the sign of the sea.
This settlement, whose origins are lost in the far distant past,
has been determined by the geographical shape of its bay. In fact,
the first inhabitants probably come as far as the Neolithic period.
People came from the Mediterranean basin – Phoenicians, Greeks
and even Carthaginians.
Fortaleza de Lagos
The
ancient city centre would have already emerged in the time of the
Carthaginians bearing a definitive name – Lacóbriga.
Various coins, remains of town walls, beautiful floor tiles prove
the military, economic and cultural importance that Lacóbriga
attained during the peak period of the Roman Empire that dominated
the whole Mediterranean Sea.
The fall of the Roman Empire and after the conquest of the south
of the Peninsula by the Arabs veiled this town with an obscure mystery;
they called the city of Zawala.
Lagos Walls
In
1332 the Portuguese king D. Afonso IV ordered the restoration of
the town walls and placed the Algarve Military Government Headquarters
within in it.
It is in Lagos that the famous scion of the Portuguese Royal Family,
Infante D. Henrique or Prince Henry the Navigator chose to settle
and from it the great adventure of the Portuguese Discoveries began.
In 1434 Gil Eanes sailed from Lagos, to surpass Cabo Bojador and
in 1441, the first African slaves were brought in creating the first
Slave Market, which building is still standing today in central
Lagos.
Marina de Lagos
In
1504 D. Manuel I gave to Lagos a new city charter and later, in
1578, D. Sebastião raised Lagos to the status of a city,
and from its harbour left on a fatal expedition against the Moors
in North Africa from which he never returned.
In 1755 the city was almost destroyed by an earthquake; however
it re-emerged from its ashes and ruins.
Today, the town still retains the atmosphere of its great cosmopolitan
heritage, a fact readily visible to the visitor in its wealth of
architecture and monuments.