The remains of the Roman conquest are felt in the current urban core of the city of Silves. Likely to have been built in that remote period, the first defensive walls of an urban core. The Muslim occupation of the present territory Algarve and the prolonged stay of the Arab peoples and their cultural influence remained from the centuries VIII to XIII, and profoundly marked the history and urban planning of the city.

It is possible that Silves have a bridge in Roman times, given the fact that the town was at the crossroads of Roman roads and also by opus discovery signinum near current ponte.2 In later centuries history is more obscure. As Silves (then called Xelb) was the capital of an Islamic kingdom in the XI-XII centuries, some historians who floated a bridge could have been built in the Muslim city. However, medieval descriptions of Silves carried out by Arabs and Christians never mention a bridge in place, making it unlikely the existence of such a structure to época.1 For example, cross-reporting the conquest of the city by King Sancho I, in 1189 , does not mention any ponte.

The current bridge was raised in the fifteenth century. The first documentary reference is in Lisbon Cortes of 1439, where the envoys of Silves refer to the reconstruction work of a ponte.1 Other documents indicate that the bridge was under construction in 1459 but in 1473 was already finished.

In the early seventeenth century the bridge lost two arches and had to be restored. In 1716 it was again restored by bricklayer Inácio Mendes, but reusing the structures anteriores.1 The stylistic structure of the bridge, however, was not changed in such reformas.

In the twentieth century an arch of the bridge, located on the right bank, was eliminated for the construction of the promenade. In 1950 it was raised for a nearby concrete bridge and the old bridge has become pedestrian.

The details about the foundation and building of Silves Cathedral are unclear. In the process of the Reconquista, Moorish Silves was conquered in 1189 by King Sancho I of Portugal, but since the city was retaken by the Moors in 1191, it is unlikely that a cathedral was built at this time. Only in 1242 was Silves definitely reconquered by Christian knights during the reign of King Afonso III, and it is believed that this king was responsible for beginning the construction of Silves Cathedral as the seat of a newly founded Algarve diocese.

The works proceeded with difficulty, and in 1352 the cathedral was damaged by a strong earthquake. In the 1440s, the cathedral workshop was given a great impulse by King Afonso V. This building campaign produced the apse with its three chapels, the transept and the main portal, in Gothic style, dating from the 1470s. The three-aisled nave was only finished in the early 16th century.

When King John II died unexpectedly in Alvor (Portimão), near Silves, in 1495, he was provisionally buried in the main chapel of Silves Cathedral. In 1499, in the presence ofKing Manuel I, his remains were exhumed and transferred to the Monastery of Batalha, where John II was permanently re-buried; however, his tomb slab with a Gothic inscription is still located on the floor of the main chapel of Silves Cathedral. Many important personalities of Silves were buried in the cathedral during the 15th and 16th centuries, as attested by the many tomb slabs on its floor.

Economic difficulties and a diminishing population plagued the history of Silves in the 15th and 16th centuries, leading to the bishop staying for long periods away from Silves. The most notable of the bishops at this time was Jerónimo Osório, one of the greatest Portuguese humanists and theologians. It was during his rule, in 1577, that the bishopric seat was transferred from Silves to Faro, a more prosperous city located by the coast. In the next centuries the interior of the church was enriched with Mannerist and Baroquealtarpieces, some of which still exist.

The Great Earthquake of 1755 struck a terrible blow for Silves and its cathedral and destroyed part of the nave. The building was repaired and modified, replacing the simple Gothic forms of the upper part of the main façade with Rococo volutes. The bell tower and the south portal are also 18th-century additions.

In the 20th century, an extensive renovation of Silves Cathedral suppressed many of the Baroque additions and returned the building to a more “mediaeval” look.

From the outside, a striking aspect of Silves Cathedral is the contrast between thewhitewashed surfaces of the walls and the red sandstone (grés de Silves) of the apse, windows and main portal.

The main portal, executed in the 1470s, is inserted on a stepped rectangular moulding (alfiz), a common feature on the façades of Portuguese mediaeval buildings since the Romanesque era. Other primitive features of the portal are the figurative corbels of the upper cornice of the moulding, representing animal and human faces. The portal consists of a series of four columns and several pointed-arch archivolts. The outer archivolt is decorated with a series of reliefs of vegetal motifs and human figures, some playing musical instruments. The decoration of the capitals of the columns reveals the influence of theBatalha workshop, which was active in the 15th century. Interestingly, the portal of the main church of Portimão, located nearby, is almost a replica of the one in Silves and is believed to have been executed by the same artisans. The South portal is a Baroque addition (18th century).

Silves Cathedral is a Latin cross church with a three-aisled nave, transept and three chapels in the east end. The east side of the church with transept was built earlier (mid-15th century) than the nave (probably early 16th century). The eastern chapels and transept are covered by Gothic stone rib vaulting, while the nave aisles are covered by a simple wooden roof. It is likely that the original plan called for the whole church to be covered by stone vaulting like other Portuguese cathedrals built at the time, like the Cathedral of Guarda. The aisles of the nave are separated by arches of pointed profile supported by columns of octagonal cross section. The south transept arm is illuminated by a largemullioned window with Gothic tracery.

From archaeological excavations, it is assumed that the first fortress on this site consisted of a Lusitanian castro. It is believed that Phoenicans, Greeks and Carthaginians traversed the site at one time, but that around 201 B.C. the Romans conquered Silves, transforming it into a citadel of their occupation, and commercial center that prospered for the next five centuries.

Around 716, the Visigothic citadel was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate who reinforced the existing fortifications with a new series of walls. This new period resulted in a great period of development, under the Moorish occupiers, that include the extensive walls in the west.

 In 1160, it was sacked by Ferdinand I of León and Castile, but remained only for a short time in the hand of the Christians: it was quickly recaptured by the Moors. King Sancho I of Portugal, supported by the powerful Crusader army, conquered the city, after a prolong encirclement in 1189. But, a grande army, under orders from Amir al-Mu’minin, in 1191, retook the city. The buildings of the Taifa kingdoms of the 11th century, which includes the Palace of Balconies (where Al-Mutamid, lived as the poet Ibn Amarhe) progressed in the 11th century. The walls and towers that today represent the Castle of Silves came from these campaigns and public works by Almoravides and Almohads in the 12th and 13th centuries. The castles internal water catchment, and large rain fed underground cistern were used to provide freshwater for the surrounding dwellings (to as late as the 1920s). It would only be in the 13th century, during the reign of Afonso III of Portugal, that forces under the command of D. Paio Peres Correia, would definitively take the fortress.

A statute of Sancho I of Portugal whose forces, supported by an even stronger Crusader army, conquered the citadel of Silves in 1189.

A foral was issued in 1266 by King Afonso III of Portugal. In order to expand the influence of Portuguese control, this foral was then supported by residential concessions from King Denis (in 1305), that were later repeated in 1380, under King Fernando I of Portugal. But, even naming Prince Henry the Navigator alcalde for Silves (in 1457), and new concessions in 1487, under King John II, little development occurred in the territory.

Lisbon earthquake

On 1 November 1755, the castle was damaged by the Lisbon earthquake, resulting in the “…loss of its cathedral, tower, castle and walls…”, as identified by Moreira de Mendonça (1758). Sometime during the 18th century, the dungeons were reconstructed, following the earthquake, and the ceilings repainted.

Architectures

The castle consists of an irregular polygon implanted on a hilltop overlooking the community of Silves, comprising four towers and seven crenellated posts, linked by walls with ardaves.

Two gates, the principal one between two towers and the Traitor’s Gate carved into the northern wall. Alongside the principal gate is the guardhouse, constructed with a vaulted ceiling, and covered in tiles.

Within its courtyard are various subterranean structures, with accesses at soil level. The Cistern of Moura, is a 10 metres (33 ft) high, 820 square metres (8,800 sq ft) superficial area, with five naves marked by four orders of columns, interlinked by semi-circular archways. The Cisterna dos Cães, within the courtyard, is a vertical hole of 60 metres (200 ft) depth, that also supported water supply in the castle.

On the second floor of the Governor’s residence, there are two halls covered in painted wood. One of these halls includes a painting of royal arms, framed in shells and acanthus leaves, while on the four lateral panels, are military “trophies” comprising suits of armor, flags, lances, canons, muskets and drums. In the other hall is an allegory of Mars flanked by figurative and floral medallions.

In the military square, and alongside the southwest wall, are the vestiges of a house, presumably the residence of Prince Henry (when he was thealcalde of the Algarve), that includes foundations in dirt, a stone staircase (with a sigle on one flight), a spacious living room with the remains of a vaulted ceiling, olive oil press and pesto.

The visitor and interpretative centre within the shadow of the castle.

After 713, when the Moors invaded Iberia, Silves became part of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba under the Arabic name of Shilb (شلب). In the 10th century it was one of the most important towns of western Al-Andalus. Silves became an independent taifa in 1027 under the rule of Ibn Mozaine and his son, who was dethroned in 1051 by al-Mu’tadid, the governor of Seville. al-Mu’tamid ibn ‘Abbad, the son of al-Mu’tadid and a famous poet, ruled the taifa of Silves until 1091. After the Almoravid conquest the town became Almohad in 1156. In 1189 King Sancho I of Portugal conquered the town with the aid of Northern European crusaders, but lost it again to the Almohads. Periodic raiding expeditions were sent from Al-Andalus to ravage the Iberian Christian kingdoms, bringing back booty and slaves. The governor of Córdoba attacked Silves in 1191, and took 3,000 Christian slaves. Again under Muslim rule, the city would then prosper to the point of being called the Baghdad of the West.

The town was finally taken from the last Muslim king Ibn Afan by Paio Peres Correia, Grand-Master of the Order of Santiago in 1242, after the Alentejo and most of the coast had already fallen in 1238. The great mosque was changed into Silves Cathedral(Sé Catedral). Silves declined in importance thereafter and was eclipsed in the region by Faro during the colonial period. In 1491, the town was given to queen Leonora by King João.

Parts of the Almohad town wall, constructed from poured concrete, have been preserved, as well as the Almedina-gate (Porta de Loulé). Other sights include the Santa Misericórdia Church with a fine door in Manueline style (the main body of the church was built in 1727-28); a museum for cork and the production of bottle corks in a defunct factory which is now also a centre for cultural events called “Fábrica do Inglês (The Englishman’s Factory); and the municipal museum (Museu Municipal de Arqueologia) with findings from the palaeolithic onwards.

The town is situated on a hill above the Arade River. Silves Castle (Castelo dos Mouros, Moorish Castle) is located on the top of the hill. It occupies ca. 12,000m². Archaeological excavations have shown that the oldest buildings date back to the 8th century, the stratigraphy is almost 6m deep and contains Iron Age remains as well. The walls are made of red sandstone (grés de Silves) with a pisé-core and have been heavily restored in the 1940s. Protruding towers of albarra-type protect the Northern slope. After the Christian conquest, the castle served as the seat of the alcaide-mor (provincial governor) till the middle of the 16th century, afterwards the towers were used as a prison.