Faro, Portugal

Faro (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfaɾu]) is a municipality, southernmost city and seat of the district of the same name, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. With a population of 64,560 inhabitants in 2011 (with 50,000 inhabitants in the city proper), the municipality covers an area of approximately 202.57 square kilometres (78.21 sq mi).

History

The Ria Formosa lagoon attracted human occupants from the Palaeolithic age until the end of pre-history. The first settlements date from the 4th century BC, during the period of Phoneician colonization of the western Mediterranean. At the time, the area was known as Ossonoba, and was the most important urban centre of southern Portugal and commercial entrepot for agricultural products, fish and minerals. Between the 2nd and 8th century, the city was under the domain of the Roman, than the Byzantine and later Visigoths, before being conquered by the Moors in 713. From the 3rd century onwards and during the Visigothic period, it was the site of an Episcopal see of the Christian church. The Byzantine presence perdured in the city walls towers that were built during the Byzantine presence. byzantine towers

Portugal

Portugal (Portuguese: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa), is a country on the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, being bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 km (754 mi) long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union. The republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments.

The land within the borders of current Portugal has been continuously settled and fought over since prehistoric times. The Celts and the Romans were followed by the Visigothic and the Suebi Germanic peoples, who were themselves later invaded by the Moors. These Muslim peoples were eventually expelled during the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula. By 1139, Portugal had established itself as a kingdom independent from León. In the 15th and 16th centuries, as the result of pioneering the Age of Discovery, Portugal expanded Western influence and established the first global empire, becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers.

Portugal (disambiguation)

Portugal is a country in southwestern Europe.

Portugal may also refer to:

Similar spellings

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Portugal (surname)

Portugal is a surname derived from the country of the same name. People with the name include:

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