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A mosque
A mosque stood where the Gothic cathedral now stands
A mosque built during Moorish rule originally stood on the site. It was mostly restructured and converted into a Catholic cathedral after the Reconquista. It is mostly Gothic and is considered the main Gothic monument in the Algarve.
Slow work
Work began under Afonso III and the nave was done in the early 16th century
Silves was definitely reconquered in 1242, and Afonso III is believed to have begun the cathedral as the seat of a new Algarve diocese. The works proceeded with difficulty. The nave was only finished in the early 16th century.
A king's slab
King John II was first buried here and his tomb slab is still on the floor
King John II was provisionally buried in the main chapel in 1495. In 1499, with King Manuel I present, his remains were moved to the Monastery of Batalha. His tomb slab with a Gothic inscription is still in the main chapel.
The seat
In 1577 the bishopric seat moved from Silves to Faro
Economic difficulties and a diminishing population troubled Silves in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the bishop stayed away for long periods. Jerónimo Osório, a great humanist, was bishop when the seat moved to Faro in 1577.
The stone
Red sandstone sets off the whitewashed walls
From the outside, the walls are whitewashed while the apse, windows and main portal are red sandstone, grés de Silves. The portal of the main church of Portimão is almost a replica, and was probably made by the same artisans.
Day 4, morning
It comes after Silves Castle. Then Carvoeiro.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Silves Cathedral, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.