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Algarve
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Algarve
The Algarve (UK: /ælˈɡɑːrv, ˈælɡ-/, US: /ɑːlˈɡɑːrvə, ælˈ-/, European Portuguese: [alˈɣaɾvɨ] ⓘ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of 4,997 km2 (1,929 sq mi) with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelhos or municípios in Portuguese).
The region has its administrative centre in the city of Faro, where both the region's international airport and public university, the University of Algarve, are located. The region is the same as the area included in the Faro District and is subdivided into two zones, one to the West (Barlavento) and another to the East (Sotavento). Tourism and related activities are extensive and make up the bulk of the Algarve's summer economy. Production of food which includes fish and other seafood, as well as different types of fruit and vegetables such as oranges, figs, plums, carob pods, almonds, avocados, tomatoes, cauliflowers, strawberries, and raspberries, are also economically important in the region.
Although Lisbon surpasses the Algarve in terms of tourism revenue, the Algarve is still, overall, considered to be the biggest and most important Portuguese tourist region, having received an estimated total of 4.2 million tourists in 2017. Its population triples in the peak holiday season due to seasonal residents. Due to the high standards of quality of life, mainly regarding safety and access to public health services, as well as due to cultural factors and considerably good weather conditions, the Algarve is becoming increasingly sought after, mostly by central and northern Europeans, as a permanent place to settle. Several studies and reports have concluded that the Algarve is among the world's best places to retire.
The Algarve is the fourth most developed Portuguese region–in 2019, it was placed fourth out of seven regions with a human development index (HDI) of 0.847 (Portugal's HDI average was 0.864 in 2019). With a GDP per capita at 85.2% of the European Union average, it has the second highest purchasing power in the country only behind the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
The term "Algarve" comes from the Arabic الغرب (al-ġarb), meaning "the west", that is, Western Al-Andalus. This term was used by the Portuguese to refer to the areas of Iberia right to their south, which were under Muslim control, with the term eventually narrowing down to only the southwesternmost region.
After a streak of military victories against the Wattasids in 1471 that resulted in the conquest of the cities of Asilah and Tangier, the Portuguese, who saw their overseas conquests as an extension of the Reconquista, came to refer to their North African possessions as the "Algarve-Beyond-the-Sea" (Algarve de Além-Mar) or the "African Algarve", in contrast with the European Algarve, now retroactively known as "Algarve-Before-the-Sea" (Algarve de Aquém-Mar). It was thus common to speak of "the Algarves" in the plural, even after the abandonment of Portugal's last North African outpost in 1769, especially in the context of the title of "King/Queen of the Algarves" held by Portuguese monarchs right up until the implantation of the Portuguese Republic, with the plural form falling into disuse since. Spanish monarchs also claim the title, though only in pretense, not laying any territorial claims on the European Algarve (although Ceuta has historically been considered part of the so-called "Algarve-Beyond-the-Sea").
Human presence in southern Portugal dates back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. The presence of megalithic stones in the area of Vila do Bispo, Lagos, Alcoutim and elsewhere in the region attests to this presence.
At around the year 1000 BC, the Phoenicians founded the city of Cádiz, and, subsequently, coastal ports along the Algarve coast. By the time of the Carthaginians, Portus Hannibalis – located in what is today either the city of Portimão or the town of Alvor in the Algarve – is named after Hannibal Barca. The Cynetes, as they were known in Greek, Conii, in Latin, were established by the sixth century BC in the region of the Algarve (called Cyneticum). Their ethnic and linguistic origins remain widely disputed, although, due to geographical proximity, it is possible that they were related both to Tartessos and the Celtici, seeing that Conii, the likely designation they used to describe themselves, is derived of the Proto-Celtic kwon ('dog'). These Indo-European tribes, Celtic or pre-Celtic, created a settlement in Lacóbriga (today's Lagos) in the year 1899 BC.
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Algarve
The Algarve (UK: /ælˈɡɑːrv, ˈælɡ-/, US: /ɑːlˈɡɑːrvə, ælˈ-/, European Portuguese: [alˈɣaɾvɨ] ⓘ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of 4,997 km2 (1,929 sq mi) with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelhos or municípios in Portuguese).
The region has its administrative centre in the city of Faro, where both the region's international airport and public university, the University of Algarve, are located. The region is the same as the area included in the Faro District and is subdivided into two zones, one to the West (Barlavento) and another to the East (Sotavento). Tourism and related activities are extensive and make up the bulk of the Algarve's summer economy. Production of food which includes fish and other seafood, as well as different types of fruit and vegetables such as oranges, figs, plums, carob pods, almonds, avocados, tomatoes, cauliflowers, strawberries, and raspberries, are also economically important in the region.
Although Lisbon surpasses the Algarve in terms of tourism revenue, the Algarve is still, overall, considered to be the biggest and most important Portuguese tourist region, having received an estimated total of 4.2 million tourists in 2017. Its population triples in the peak holiday season due to seasonal residents. Due to the high standards of quality of life, mainly regarding safety and access to public health services, as well as due to cultural factors and considerably good weather conditions, the Algarve is becoming increasingly sought after, mostly by central and northern Europeans, as a permanent place to settle. Several studies and reports have concluded that the Algarve is among the world's best places to retire.
The Algarve is the fourth most developed Portuguese region–in 2019, it was placed fourth out of seven regions with a human development index (HDI) of 0.847 (Portugal's HDI average was 0.864 in 2019). With a GDP per capita at 85.2% of the European Union average, it has the second highest purchasing power in the country only behind the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
The term "Algarve" comes from the Arabic الغرب (al-ġarb), meaning "the west", that is, Western Al-Andalus. This term was used by the Portuguese to refer to the areas of Iberia right to their south, which were under Muslim control, with the term eventually narrowing down to only the southwesternmost region.
After a streak of military victories against the Wattasids in 1471 that resulted in the conquest of the cities of Asilah and Tangier, the Portuguese, who saw their overseas conquests as an extension of the Reconquista, came to refer to their North African possessions as the "Algarve-Beyond-the-Sea" (Algarve de Além-Mar) or the "African Algarve", in contrast with the European Algarve, now retroactively known as "Algarve-Before-the-Sea" (Algarve de Aquém-Mar). It was thus common to speak of "the Algarves" in the plural, even after the abandonment of Portugal's last North African outpost in 1769, especially in the context of the title of "King/Queen of the Algarves" held by Portuguese monarchs right up until the implantation of the Portuguese Republic, with the plural form falling into disuse since. Spanish monarchs also claim the title, though only in pretense, not laying any territorial claims on the European Algarve (although Ceuta has historically been considered part of the so-called "Algarve-Beyond-the-Sea").
Human presence in southern Portugal dates back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. The presence of megalithic stones in the area of Vila do Bispo, Lagos, Alcoutim and elsewhere in the region attests to this presence.
At around the year 1000 BC, the Phoenicians founded the city of Cádiz, and, subsequently, coastal ports along the Algarve coast. By the time of the Carthaginians, Portus Hannibalis – located in what is today either the city of Portimão or the town of Alvor in the Algarve – is named after Hannibal Barca. The Cynetes, as they were known in Greek, Conii, in Latin, were established by the sixth century BC in the region of the Algarve (called Cyneticum). Their ethnic and linguistic origins remain widely disputed, although, due to geographical proximity, it is possible that they were related both to Tartessos and the Celtici, seeing that Conii, the likely designation they used to describe themselves, is derived of the Proto-Celtic kwon ('dog'). These Indo-European tribes, Celtic or pre-Celtic, created a settlement in Lacóbriga (today's Lagos) in the year 1899 BC.
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