#barlavento

[fabien-euskadi]

Platibandas are one of the most notable elements of Algarve's traditional architecture. Here are four examples that I found in a small town called Alcantarilha - and yes, the top one is quite something.

[agirlandherholga]

soaking it all in.

[fabien-euskadi]

Alcantarilha is a small town in western Algarve, with a population that barely surpasses 2500 inhabitants. It may not be the prettiest town in the world - it's not even the prettiest in Algarve -, but it certainly has its charm.

[fabien-euskadi]

As far as I know, there are only eight ossuaries (bones chapels) in Portugal, and all of them are situated in the two southernmost regions of the Continent: the Alentejo and the Algarve. In the latter, we can find the Bones Chapel of Alcantarilha, a small temple from the XVI Century, located next to the Parish Church. When I visited this small chapel, the imaged of a crucified Christ had been removed for some reason.

By the way, Google will tell you that there are only six bones chapels in Portugal: Évora (by far, the largest), Faro, Campo Maior, Monforte, Lagos and this one, in Alcantarilha; however, there are two more ossuaries in the Algarve region, both of them open-air ossuaries that are little more than mere oraories covered with human bones: a very small one on in the Cathedral of Faro and one in the village of Pechão.

[fabien-euskadi]

The Parish Church of Alcantarilha, also known as Church of Our Lady of Conception. The construction of this catholic temple started during the reign of King Manuel I - i.e., during the first quarter of the XVI Century. Similarly to most Portuguese churches (especially in the southern half of the Portuguese territory), the facade was heavily restored during the second half od the XVIII Century.

[fabien-euskadi]

This is the Chapel of Misericórdia (charity) of Alcantarilha, a small church built in the year of 1586. I am not sure if you have noticed that detail, but the XVIII Century facade was "glued" to the original structure, but it's noticeable that they don't really match perfectly.

[fabien-euskadi]

The quiet streets of yet another small village in the Algarve region: Porches.

[fabien-euskadi]

Technically speaking, the Parish Church of Porches (aka Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation), was built in the late-XVIII Century, being heavily restored circa 1882. However, this late-Baroque temple also incorporates the main chapel that belonged to a (former?) Manueline church that existed in this exact place, being this older temple heavily damaged by the 1755 Earthquake.

Therefore, we can say that this is both a XVI and an XVIII Century church. Actually, the same line of reasoning can be applied to most historical churches: unlike humans, churches do not have a single birthdate - they have many, all of them equally valid.