a city between visions: perspectives on the city of lagos - FAU

1 5 t h I N T E R N A T I O N A L P L A N N I N G H I S T O R Y S O C I E T Y C O N F E R E N C E 

A CITY BETWEEN VISIONS: PERSPECTIVES ON THE 

CITY OF LAGOS (PORTUGAL), A GLIMPSE 

THROUGHOUT TIME AND MEMORY, ITS EFFECTS ON 

ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN ENVIRONMENT. 

NETO,MARIA JOÃO PEREIRA; JANUÁRIO, PEDRO GOMES; KONG, 

MÁRIO S. MING; GARCIA, ANDREIA 

Address: Centre History Culture FCSH – New University Lisbon 

CIAUD Research Center, Faculty of Architecture, Lisbon Technical University 

CIAUD Research Center, Faculty of Architecture, Lisbon Technical University 

PhD Student at CIAUD Research Center, Faculty of Architecture, Lisbon 

Technical University 

e-mail: mjoaopneto@gmail.com, 

arq.pedro.januario@gmail.com 

mariomingkong@gmail.com 

andreiasogarcia@gmail.com 

ABSTRACT 

This paper is part of an interdisciplinary research project that promotes the 

wider dissemination of cultural heritage and sustainable development in an 

area that encompasses part of the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and 

Costa Vicentina and the Association of Municipalities of the Algarve, Portugal 

the so called Terras do Infante (The Infant Lands) in honor of Henry the 

Navigator. The municipalities of Aljezur, Lagos and Vila do Bispo, assembled 

efforts to develop projects of common interest. The geographical proximity, 

the similarities of their historical and cultural past, along with its common 

needs and potential, were some of the factors that motivated this institutional 

link. 

We focused our research (strongly supported by cultural and visual analysis) in 

the <strong>city</strong> of Lagos once the centre of the Portuguese discoveries of the 15th 

century which was almost destroyed by one of the major and destructive 

natural catastrophes of the Portuguese and European Eighteenth-Century: the 

great Earthquake of 1755 whose effects went far beyond the capital <strong>city</strong> of 

Lisbon. 

The once beautiful and prosperous “capital” <strong>city</strong> of the Algarve was not only 

devastated by the earthquake and consequent tidal wave, as its surviving 

inhabitants were left behind by the civil and military authorities. 

It took almost a century, for a once very important trading <strong>city</strong> to recover. 

However the urban and social decay brought by the natural catastrophe was 

mitigated by the resilience of its inhabitants which combated and promoted 

resistance not only to the French invasions but also during the Portuguese civil 

war of the of the 19th century promoting and defending the liberal cause. 

These facts were determinant for the slow reconstruction of the <strong>city</strong> and 

brought a new insight not only for Lagos but also for the Algarve Region. 

1

C i t i e s , n a t i o n s a n d r e g i o n s i n p l a n n i n g h i s t o r y 

The urban landscape and the <strong>city</strong>’s architecture are both a mirror of this 

historical and social events and emphasize a new beginning based on the idea 

of some modernity and progress sustained by the canned fish industry that 

began in the late 19th century and had its heyday in the 20s of the twentieth 

century. 

During the last decades of the 19th century and the long 20th century, the <strong>city</strong> 

and its architecture are going to reflect the Portuguese social history and in 

particular the Algarve as a Region that will have a new beginning in the sixties 

with the dawn of Tourism as a major industry. Nowadays at the beginning of 

the 21st century, tourism is dangerously sustained by a model based on mass 

tourism, that can not only deface the beauty of the landscape as essential 

patrimonial heritage of the <strong>city</strong> and the region where it inserts, walking 

through a logic of (un)sustainability, but also and especially regarding the <strong>city</strong> 

of Lagos, generate almost as devastating impact as to the 1755 earthquake 

Our goal is to present the actual results from our research project within the 

academic community and also civil organizations responsible for the protection 

of heritage values that may contribute to the preservation of cultural values of 

a region in an ethically and responsible way. 

INTRODUCTION. 

This communication makes part and is complementary to a research project on 

the preservation of memory and cultural heritage of a territory that includes 

the so-called Terras do Infante – an inter municipality association in southern 

Portugal which includes the municipalities of Aljezur, Vila do Bispo and Lagos. 

This association was formed in October 2000 and aims to plan, programs and 

develop projects and its financing, implementation and maintenance activities 

associated with the planning of strategies for the common development to all 

three counties, as well as the development and management of common 

projects in various areas and interests of culture, education, information, 

health, welfare and urban planning, environmental protection, and heritage, in 

view of the economic, social and cultural development of the populations of the 

associated municipalities 1 . 

The project ALJEZUR, "<strong>between</strong> <strong>visions</strong>" of Place and Memory was presented to 

the Congress of the Centenary of Tourism in Portugal held in Portugal in May 

2011 and aims to integrate diverse knowledge and expertise, to propose new 

approaches to sustainable development, based on preservation of cultural 

heritage in its various forms, contemplating and emphasizing the register of the 

memory. 

In this sense, and based on an integrated analysis of concepts that comprise and 

leverage development through sustainable and ethically responsible tourism, we 

intend to rehearse a new territorial approach based on the defense of the 

intangible heritage of Aljezur and its neighboring counties, including part of the 

area of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina Natural Park. 

With the disclosure of this project, we intend to promote academic reflection 

on the registry of the Memory and the Cultural Identity of the places as 

1 In Diário da República, III série, 14 de Dezembro de 2000


elements that will encourage the development of another possible tourism, in 

the context of post modernity and of an economic crisis on a global scale, 

strengthened by the use of new technologies, based on augmented reality and 

immersive media, that will allow, first, to decrease the environmental impact 

and ecological footprints and, secondly, to meet other potential recipients, 

offering virtual tours <strong>between</strong> past, present and future, by providing specific 

and customizable means which include diverse records of the Memory, like 

photography and visual recording. 

Methodologically, our project assumes its transdisciplinarity and is structured in 

five distinct phases, according to the presentation to the Congress of the 

Centenary of Tourism in Portugal in May 2011 2 . 

a. Gathering and Survey of the various registers of the Memory 

associated with social, economic and scenic aspects, among others; 

b. Inventory, classification and cataloguing of the obtained data, 

depending on its type and its theme; 

c. Data analysis, integration of different museum estates or previously 

catalogued data, in accordance with the various scientific areas 

involved; 

d. Systematization and dissemination of the gathered information; 

e. Creation of various Models of Information. 

We intend to integrate the possibilities of access not only to goods and 

products, but also to the spirit of the place or genius loci, according to the view 

enunciated by Norberg-Schulz, this spirit, which manifests itself not only in the 

location but also in its spatial configuration, and especially in the 

characterization of the interplay <strong>between</strong> the spectator and the place, boosting 

and generating potential new areas for the municipality of Aljezur and 

concomitantly for the so-called Terras do Infante. 

The hypothesis for this project that should be enhanced and extended to other 

regions of the Portuguese territory, intends to take on the reconciliation of the 

objectives of the maintenance and preservation of key elements of the identity 

of the council, its immaterial and intangible heritage (landscape, monuments, 

flora, fauna, cuisine, local products, etc.) as well as everyday use or enjoyment 

of some of its cultural assets, valuing and optimizing local identities. 

By promoting an alternative to traditional cultural tourism, which involves and 

assumes the voyage, we encourage and rehearse other communication 

strategies and the preservation of heritage, using new forms of "walks" through 

the recorded memory of the past and the present, in view of the future. 

ALJEZUR, "<strong>between</strong> <strong>visions</strong>" of Place and Memory, seeks to contribute to the 

definition and implementation of an ethically sustainable cultural tourism, 

which "goes beyond the traveler," less associated to market related issues and 

integrating a reflection on the ethics and the debates on the contexts of postmodernity 

and its paradigms. 

2 Neto, M J; Januário, P, Kong, M (2011) 

3


Man postmodern twenty-first century must assume and integrate the cultural 

and environmental sustainability, seeking and enhancing the experiences of his 

imaginary, substantiated and stimulated by creativity and the potential of 

technological challenges, based on culture and the global visual communication 

that could help bridge the boundaries of tangibility and emerge in various fields 

of virtuality and imagery 3 . 

LAGOS CITY, PORTUGAL. 

It is in this sense that we integrate this communication: practicing a 

complementary approach to the <strong>city</strong> of Lagos the closest town to Aljezur, about 

30 Kms - a half hour trip - away, the main location of basic services such as 

hospital, court, and high schools. A <strong>city</strong> whose area of influence extends to the 

limits of the municipalities of Aljezur and also Vila do Bispo, another 

municipality, member of the association Terras do Infante. 

Figure 1- Anonimous. Western Algarve roadmap, Portugal, c. 2000’s, bipmap image, dimensions 

(486 × 421 pixels) [http://www.algarve-portal.com/objects/algarve/RoadmapAlgarveWest_486.gif] 

Our choice of this approach is justified in a context where uncertainties loom 

over the future Portuguese municipalities map, and it is probable, or possible, 

that this association might correspond to a future joint management of the 

three counties. Thus, Lagos assume, further, an important role at this juncture, 

3 Neto, M J; Januário, P, Kong, M (2011)


enhancing its importance as a <strong>city</strong> with a significant area of influence compared 

to the others of the region. 

City located in the south Portugal at the Algarve Region, Lagos is spread along 

the right bank of the river Bensafrim and the seaside of the magnificent Bay of 

Lagos. Its main economic resources derived from tourism but also from 

manufacturing. 

According to the 2011 census the all municipality has a population of 31 000 

inhabitants and the <strong>city</strong> it self circa 22 000 4 . 

Figure 2- JANUÁRIO, Pedro (Portugal, 1970-, Fev. 2012). Total Inhabitants Chart of the Lagos 

Municipality according to the Portuguese �ational Instituite of Statistics (I�E), Fev. 2012, Excel 

Graphic. 

THE DAWN OF LAGOS. 

“as happens with all places built by their inhabitants the <strong>city</strong> of the <strong>city</strong> of 

Lagos has evolved under the influence of shifts of power and on the value of 

those that inhabit them. In Lagos they always had a common denomination, 

the sea. Lagos is a maritime <strong>city</strong> (…) Lagos history is also the story of its 

connection to the Sea." (VELOSO, José, 2011, prologue). 

The origin f its toponymy is Lacobriga 5 which contains the Celtic word Briga 

(height) which can assume the existence of a fortification before the roman 

occupation. This territory became Carthaginian by the IV century b.C., then 

Roman by the I century b.C. Both civilizations left strong traces of their 

occupation, which lasted several centuries. 

After being occupied by the Visigoths and the Byzantines, Lagos transforms 

itself in an important Arab <strong>city</strong> in the seventh-century. It was Abderraman III 

4 Source INE – Statistics Portugal 2011 

5 Oliveira (2011), Rocha (1991); Paula (1992), Correia (1994) and other historical 

monographs about Lagos and the Algarve region 

5


(or caliph Abd Al Rahman of Cordoba from 929), which gave the new urban form 

to the <strong>city</strong> now called Zawala or Zawaia (lakes or wells) 6 rebuilding its walls 7 . 

In 1241 was integrated in the Portuguese territory. Due to its privileged and 

strategic location and magnificent bay (one of the largest open bays in Europe) 

which could easily accommodate about 200 ships of war – from this port left the 

fleet which conquered Ceuta in North Africa in 1415. 

Figure 3- ALMEIDA, Leopoldo de (Portuguese sculptor, 1898-1975). CASTELO, Francisco 

(Portuguese, Photographer). Statue of Henry the �avigator (1396-1460), in Lagos <strong>city</strong>, 1960, 

Linestone and Bronze. 

Lagos became officially a <strong>city</strong> by royal decree in the 16th century and was 

already an important walled <strong>city</strong> when became the residence of the military 

government of the Algarve 8 . The <strong>city</strong> reinforced its geographical and strategic 

relevance in Portuguese and European context in the modern age. Lagos was 

also the favorite place for Henry the Navigator (1396-1460) whose image is still 

present in the contemporary <strong>city</strong>. His statue (1960) is a major monument 

structured a central square near the <strong>city</strong> walls facing the marginal avenue near 

the <strong>city</strong> walls, and also his resting place. Nowadays Lagos is still known as the 

historic centre of the Portuguese Age of Discoveries, local and tourism 

authorities emphasize this fact. 

6 Lagos in portuguese means Lakes 

7 See also: Guia de Portugal – Sant´anna Dionísio – II Estremadura, Alentejo e Portugal – 

Gulbenkian, reedição, 1º edição 1927 

8 The other <strong>city</strong> was Tavira in the east part of The Algarve region.


The centre of the Portuguese Maritimes discoveries since the 15th century, 

Lagos was the departure place for D. Sebastião, the young Portuguese king who 

went in 1578 to North Africa and never came back from the Battle of Ksar el 

Kebir also known as the battle of Three Kings 9 putting an end to the Portuguese 

dynasty and leading the country to a major crisis who led to the loss of its 

independence through a dynastic union with Spain which lasted until the mid 

17th century. 

Figure 4- Anonimous. CASTELO, Francisco (Portuguese, Photographer). Manueline style window, 

once the hall of residence of Algarve governors. According to tradition it was by this window that 

king Sebastian assisted Mass before he left on his ill-fated conquest of Morocco, s.d., digital photo, 

dimensions (567 x 372 pixles) [http://fotografia.fcastelo.net/main.php?g2_itemId=12312] 

The architectural heritage of the <strong>city</strong> and its urban form reflects all these 

historical events. The so called Cerca Velha - Old Wall - was concluded in the 

14th century and included a orthogonal urban core – a main road and several 

lanes – the so called old town (viladentro) 10 . The renaissance walls – Cerca Nova 

– New Wall - began to be built in the 16th century and were concluded in the 

first half of the 17th century. 

The <strong>city</strong> walls, the castle and the ramparts assumed a four-sided defensive form 

and constitute one of the most important sets of fortifications in the all region 

of Algarve 11 consisting in 14 bulwarks and 8 gates. 

Within its boundaries, were the <strong>city</strong> two major parishes Santa Maria and São 

Sebastião, who structured the <strong>city</strong> urban design. These parishes still 

9 Sebastião, King of Portugal, the army of Abu Abdalah Mohamed Sadi (Sadi dynasty) and 

the sultan of Morocco Abd–Al–Malik. 

10 About Lagos and its walls and fortifications see: Calapez Correa (1994). See also the 

<strong>city</strong> council Web site [http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/muralhas] about 

the <strong>city</strong> walls and old images. 

11 Oliveira (2011), Correia(1994), Paula (1992). 

7


correspond, in this second decade of the 21st century to the two main boroughs 

of the <strong>city</strong>, whose limits exceed what today may be called the historical centre. 

Figure 5- CASTELO, Francisco (Portuguese, Photographer). City walls, 2008, digital photo, 

dimensions (600 x 900 pixels) [http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/baluarte].[Fototeca 

Municipal de Lagos, Archive] 

Figure 6- CASTELO, Francisco (Portuguese, Photographer). Saint Amaro Bulwark or “Paiol” 

Bulwark walls, 2008, digital photo, dimensions (600 x 900 pixels) 

[http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/baluarte].[Fototeca Municipal de Lagos, Archive] 

Inside <strong>city</strong> boundaries were also several convents and monasteries and was the 

place of residence and trade of a prosperous and dynamic community of 

merchants (COMPOR). 

In 1444 arrived in Lagos the first slaves brought from Africa, starting then its 

trade. The first slave market was held at the so-called Rossio da Trindade, one 

of the <strong>city</strong> main doors. According to Paula, this “new” kind of market gained a


particular and symbolic significance that still remains 12 . In fact the first floor 

was used as house guard and also as a prison. A museological site now occupies 

the ground floor. 

Figure 7- SANTOS, António Crisógono dos (Portuguese illustrator). Illustrated postcard showing 

thew old slave market, beginning of the 20th Century, B&W postcard, dimensions (600 x 900 pixels) 

[http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/escravos].[Fototeca Municipal de Lagos, Archive] 

THE 1755 EARTHQUAKE. 

According to written testimonies, mainly from clergymen: This magnificent and 

beautiful <strong>city</strong> woke in the early morning of November the 1st with a “beautiful 

sunny day” 13 but with a slight scent of sulfur. 

For sudden the earth began to shake and the sea sought for, letting the beaches 

almost dry and a major wave entered the <strong>city</strong> for at least three times. The 

water rose up to a height of about 11 meters dragging everything around – 

water and food supplies included. According to Rocha (1991:66) 14 the <strong>city</strong> by 

that time had more than 900 dwellings and approximately 3000 inhabitants, 

much less those 5300 who had in 15th century when the all the Algarve region 

was a little over 11 000 inhabitants. 

Almost 90% of the <strong>city</strong> buildings were destroyed letting more than the official 

400 deaths 15 , include the son of the governor who was absent at the Court in 

Lisbon. The <strong>city</strong> walls collapsed as well as all the churches and houses. 

According to several testimonies, mainly from church members, the all <strong>city</strong> 

skyline was destroyed. The tidal wave effects were felt in a surrounding area of 

about 4 kilometers away from the sea. The effect of the waters flow was 

12 Paula (1992) 

13 Victor, M, (2006); Rocha (1991; 1909) 

14 This is a very important compilation of historical documents. The original edition is 

from 1909 

15 We can assume than the number of victims could be higher. The major accounts were 

made by clergymen and refer the faithful victims. This could be an even higher numbernot 

even in casualties, but also in buildings. See also The Lisboa Gazeta, 1755, nº47, pag. 

377 

9


terrible. The survivors climbed to a hill nearby Santo Amaro Church, outside the 

<strong>city</strong> walls, waiting for a divine intervention because civil and military 

authorities abandoned them. There are short but chilling reports of fear, 

despair, abandon and faith. 

Figure 8- PARALTA, A.S. Penna (Portuguese illustrator). Illustrated postcard showing the Saint 

Amaro Chapel, beginning of the 20th Century, Color postcard, dimensions (566 x 900 pixels) 

[http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/escravos].[Fototeca Municipal de Lagos, Archive] 

The first signal of reconstruction were the shacks (Barracas) that were self built 

by the survivors, while waiting for a response from the authorities. Signal of the 

times, this place – is nowadays part of the new <strong>city</strong> centre and is a neglected 

ruin. 

The civil inhabitants were left with no water; the wells and the aqueduct that 

supplied water to the <strong>city</strong> were destroyed or severally damaged. Neither with 

no food supplies, which were all buried under the rubble. 

Fruits like almonds and figs, the two major consumer goods were destroyed by 

the power of the tidal wave. Even the wine production, one the major 

economic sources of the local economy, was still largely in its barrels waiting to 

be sold and was hopelessly lost. 

The striking force of the major waves destroyed all fishing boats and shipyards. 

The only hope for survival lay in agriculture, but considering that the cataclysm 

occurred at the time of planting and the majority of houses and farms were 

destroyed, seeds and rural artifacts were submerges or buried under the 

rubbles, expectations were dashed. 

We are not talking about Lagos, but also about all the Algarve Region; namely 

all villages around, like Aljezur, were severely damaged or even destroyed. It 

was a major catastrophe evolving all social strata. 

The assumption of Sabastião José de Carvalho e Mello (later Marquise of 

Pombal) major role in Lisbon´s reconstruction has not had the same echo in the 

southern region of Portugal. For its reconstruction was determinant the role of


Lourenço de Santa Maria (1704-1783) 16 , the Algarve Bishop since 1752 (outgoing 

bishop of Goa, Portuguese India) until his death in 1783 17 . This character, little 

known by the major historians, has developed a unique action in all the work of 

reconstruction of the territory similar to Pombal in Lisbon. 

After the disaster of November the 1st of 1755, Lourenço de Santa Maria will 

take on the responsibility, by royal decree, of the religious, civil and military 

powers, while the governor Rodrigo de Menezes was absent in the capital of the 

kingdom. 

There are references to the facts that some time after the earthquake, the 

governor has returned to Lagos, but after the confirmation of his son death 

under the palace´s ruins; he retired to the <strong>city</strong> of Tavira with the entire <strong>city</strong> 

garrison. 

Far from the Lisbon Court, the Algarve region was peripheral and littoral. The 

civil authorities were almost absents. The Bishops, although in the <strong>city</strong> of Faro 

were more present. D. Lourenço´s role was more acutely felt in Faro, the 

nowadays <strong>city</strong> capital of the Algarve region, but he was the truly leader of the 

region reconstruction, the Pombal of the South. 

All the major reconstruction measures in the region were promoted under his 

rules. Lisbon and the central administration were too far even in normal 

circumstances. 

There are written testimonials, namely by itself before the Pope in 1776 as 

bishop and governor 18 describing some of its measures and providences: truly 

keeping the lives of the survivors and burying the deaths. These words reveal 

not only a great capa<strong>city</strong> of leadership, but also charisma 19 . 

In Lagos 20 , according to Rocha (1991) is noteworthy the role of brave men like 

the Corregedor 21 António Bravo de Sousa Castello Branco who tried to keep 

things in order taking measures, appealing to king and authorities for help and 

food supplies, trying to keep alive the survivors of a dying <strong>city</strong>. 

THE REBUILD CITY. 

It took almost a century, for a once very important trading <strong>city</strong> to recover. 

However the urban and social decay brought by the natural catastrophe was 

mitigated by the resilience of its inhabitants. They combated and promoted 

16 Lourenço de Mello born in São Pedro de Avelãs, Aveiro, Portugal. He was Son of a 

nobleman from the court. 

17 Neto, J. B. Pereira (2007:109-111) 

18 Neto, J. B. Pereira ( 2007: 114), and also Providências do Marquês de Pombal, vol III , 

Público editions, 2005 

19 See also Rocha, Manuel J. Paulo (1991, p.141). 

20 See Rocha (1991), Neto (2007) 

21 A local and judicial authority designed by the king. 

1


resistance not only to the French invasions (1808) 22 but also during the 

Portuguese civil war (1832/1834), of promoting and defending the liberal cause. 

The <strong>city</strong> was in 1833 under siege of an absolutist guerrilla, commanded by José 

Joaquim de Sousa Reis, named O Remexido 23 . Very active in the Algarve 

<strong>between</strong> 1836 and 1840 and was strongly repressed by the <strong>city</strong> authorities 24 . 

Only from the late 18th century, but especially in the 19th century, Lagos 

would come to know a whiff of economic recovery with the canned fish 

industries and factories. These activities were, in large part due to the arrival 

of foreign industrials from Greece, Italy and France and came to enhance the 

number of registered fishing boats and shipyards in the <strong>city</strong>. Today is fully 

extinguished. This activities and industries were determinant for the slow 

reconstruction of the <strong>city</strong> and also to the urban design. They brought a new 

insight not only for Lagos but also for the Algarve Region. 

Figure 9- Anonimous (Portuguese, Photographer). B&W photo of the Pinhão Fortress, s.d., B&W 

photo, dimensions (480 x 480 pixels) [http://drjoseformosinho.blogspot.com/2011/01/2-lagos-antigae-o-dr-jose-formosinho.html] 

22 The French troops invaded the <strong>city</strong> under the command of the coronel Maransis. The 

<strong>city</strong> inhabitants enjoying the rebellious uprising of Olhão,another Algarve municipality, 

expelled the invaders who sacked the <strong>city</strong>. 

23 Born in Estombar, Algarve(1797). Commander of an absolutist guerrilla supported in 

the Algarve Mountains even after the civil war. Remexido, never surrender to the liberal 

cause, and was executed in Faro in 1838. About his active role in Monchique, a place in 

Algarve major mountain, please see 

[http://joserosasampaio.com.sapo.pt/livros/livro%20remexido.pdf] 

24 See Rocha (1991, pp.348-349) and documents describing these events, namely on 

November 1833. Several executions of absolutist supporters by the orders of the military 

commander of the <strong>city</strong>: Francisco Corrêa de Mendonça.


The Pinhão Fortress, said to be one of the oldest military buildings of Lagos, 

having been completely destroyed by the earthquake. Left on a separate piece 

of land, the fortress was not repaired, being neglected and abandoned until the 

mid 20th century. It is nowadays a private residence with touristic utility. 

One of the first and still determinant sources of information about the 

Portuguese heritage with touristic utility, the so-called Guia da Gulbenkian 

(1983), was originally compiled in 1927 25 . States that "the <strong>city</strong> is still semi 

devastated", having no monuments testifying to its past history and lacking 

absolutely all of its picturesque constructions. This guide emphasizes the new 

market building (1924) and the City hall dating from the 19th century. 

Figure 10- SANTOS, António Crisógono dos (Portuguese illustrator). City Market, c.1940, Bazar da 

Moda Editions, Lagos, B&W photo, dimensions (462 x 900 pixels) 

[http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/mercado].[Fototeca Municipal de Lagos, Archive] 

Figure 11- GOMES, Zambrano (Portuguese, Photographer). City Hall of Lagos in the 30’s of the 20 th 

century, c.1930, B&W photo, dimensions (565 x 900 pixels) 


25 Sant´Anna Dionisio (1927, p.301) Vol. Estremadura, Alentejo e Algarve. This guide 

recommends to the travelers walks or boating tours to the magnificent beaches. or to the 

Ponta da Piedade, where a lighthouse was built circa 1913, in the place where there was 

a small chapel. It is a magnificent place, marking the limit <strong>between</strong> the land and the 

Atlantic. 

1


Until the mid 20th century Lagos stood a balanced <strong>city</strong>, harmonious, functional 

and almost aesthetically perfect in Veloso (2011) view. 

It was the major work of the Promenade Marginal, created in 1960 by the 

construction of the National route 125, the Avenida dos Descobimentos and the 

following harbour works that promoted the first destruction of the organic 

balance of the <strong>city</strong>. In fact it gained another dimension mainly touristic, 

destroying some of the most important civil and military buildings of the <strong>city</strong> 26 . 

Figure 12- Anonimous (Portuguese, Photographer). Old walled Alcacer castle of the governors, p. 

1930, B&W photo, dimensions (574 x 900 pixels) 

[http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/alcácer].[Fototeca Municipal de Lagos, Archive] 

Figure 13- OLIVEIRA, Álvaro de (Portuguese, Photographer). Guiné Avenue in Lagos, c.1950, 

B&W photo, dimensions (607 x 800 pixels) 


26 See Veloso (2011), according to this important source all these projects were done 

without socio economics considerations, without cultural assessment and no reasoned 

programme.


Lagos is since de 60’s and mainly after the 80’s of the 20th century at the 

epicenter of a new kind of phenomena who could easily destroy its balance and 

its natural beauty: the tourism sustained by a model mainly based on quick 

profit: the product sun and beach and mass tourism that can not only to deface 

patrimonial richness of the <strong>city</strong> and county landscape as essential patrimonial 

heritage of the all region walking through a logic of (un)sustainability, but also 

generate a devastating impact as similar to the 1755 earthquake. 

Figure 14- Anonimous (Portuguese, Photographer). Aereal view of the <strong>city</strong> of Lagos, 1947, B&W 

photo, dimensions (641 x 900 pixels) 

[http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/aéreas%201947].[Fototeca Municipal de Lagos, 

Archive] 

Figure 15- CASTELO, Francisco (Portuguese, Photographer); Câmara Municipal de Lagos. Aereal 

view of the <strong>city</strong> of Lagos, 2011, Digital photo, dimensions (576 x 900 pixels) 

[http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/aéreas%202011].[Fototeca Municipal de Lagos, 

Archive] 

1


The <strong>city</strong> has long spilled over the <strong>city</strong> walls and is slowing became a <strong>city</strong> full of 

uncharacteristic apartments and second residences dominated by concrete. The 

lack of urban regulations promoted an excessive construction in a major area 

surrounding the seaside and mainly the bay corresponding to large extent of 

sand, approximately 4 kms of beach, the so-called Meia praia, (half beach) 

which must be protected and regulated by law and not by real estate interests 

in a absolute contrast with past times and history and the <strong>city</strong> inhabitants 

resilience who promote the maintenance of the <strong>city</strong> natural beauty and the 

urban landscape equilibrium. 

Figure 16- CASTELO, Francisco (Portuguese, Photographer); Câmara Municipal de Lagos. View of 

the <strong>city</strong> of Lagos across its walls, March 2011, Digital photo, dimensions (600 x 900 pixels) 

[http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/panorâmicas].[Fototeca Municipal de Lagos, 

Archive] 

CONCLUSION. 

There are now Several Lagos: the one based on tourism and the Sea and the 

Sun, the <strong>city</strong> of the day to day; the new <strong>city</strong> that assumes another centrality 

apart from the <strong>city</strong> walls and the historic center, dormitory of the population 

from adjacent, more impoverished, municipalities as Aljezur and Vila do Bispo 

(the other territories of Terras do Infante). The <strong>city</strong> where the main services 

the municipality and the large shopping malls are located. And then, there is 

the historical <strong>city</strong> center, almost deserted at night, dominated by bars and pubs 

or by some agitation that, occasionally, generates some insecurity. In this 

historical center, many of the buildings of the nineteenth and the early 

twentieth century are on sale, waiting for someone willing to resurrect them 

from apathy. 

The touristic offer was enlarged in the last decade and a half, with the opening 

of new hotels of some size and especially of the Marina de Lagos (1994). This 

project changed the image of the town, giving it some momentum, which


however, due to some excesses caused by a lack of planning regulations, have 

been causing some chaos 27 . 

Figure 17- CASTELO, Francisco (Portuguese, Photographer); Câmara Municipal de Lagos. Aereal 

view of the Marine, Oct. 2010, Digital photo, dimensions (576 x 900 pixels) 

[http://fototecalagos.blogspot.com/search/label/Marina].[Fototeca Municipal de Lagos, Archive] 

It is worth mentioning that some efforts have been made, promoted by some 

natives of the <strong>city</strong> that have felt the need to endorse the recall of the 

memories of the <strong>city</strong> heritage through image registration 28 and their 

dissemination in small editions paid by the author. Or in some cases promoted 

by the municipality, which also has an excellent photo-library on their online 

web site, revealing an interest to keep alive the cultural heritage of the <strong>city</strong>. 

With this paper, by establishing bridges <strong>between</strong> our investigations of Aljezur 

and its "cross vision", proposing a new approach to sustainable tourism based on 

the records of individual and social memory 29 , by enabling a different way of 

traveling through the territory and expanding it to the <strong>city</strong> of Lagos, we expect 

to, somehow, contribute to call attention to the necessity of the strengthening 

of the protection of historical and architectural heritage of a beautiful Atlantic 

<strong>city</strong>, whose role and influence exceeds the limits of their municipality. 

REFERENCES 

Calado, V. Lagos ontem, 2nd edition, Lagos, Câmara Municial de Lagos, 2005 

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Corrêa, F.C. A cidade e o termo de Lagos no período dos reis Filipes. Lagos, 

Centro de estudos Gil Eanes, 1994 

27 The so-called Meia Praia Urban plan (PUMP) has disfigured the extensive area around 

the Lagos bay with touristic “resorts”, several hotels, and massive construction. 

28 See also Terras do Infante a visual book, published by the municipalities association in 

2005. 

29 See Paul Connerton (1989). 

1


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a city between visions: perspectives on the city of lagos - FAU

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