Situated on the extreme South of Portugal, Faro is the administrative center for the whole of the Region of Algarve. Despite the fact that it has both Arab and Roma ruins, most of the present appealing older buildings were constructed after the disastrous earthquakes that took place in 1532 and 1755.
Faro originally received the name of Ossónoba by the Moors, who occupied the town in the 8th century, and who developed it into a trading port. Finally, in 1249, they were defeated by the forces of Dom Afonso III.
This town took over the role of Administration of the Algarve Area due to the decline of the importance of the city of Silves.
The town was sacked in 1596, by the Earl of Essex and his fellow crusaders on the journey to the Holy Land. It was in this way that the collection of books belonging to the palace of the Bishop of Faro became part of the Bodleain Library in Oxford, England.
It would be interesting to mention that during the 500 years of Moorish occupation, some Jewish inhabitants in Faro were busily printing copies of the Old Testament.
Car hire in Faro
