Lina, my guide in the Algarve, the region further south of Portugal, accompanies me to a very special place: from Tavira, a beautiful rural road leads between Naranjos to Estei. The matrix church of ESOI was rebuilt with love after the earthquake of 1755, which destroyed not only Lisbon but also much of the Algarve. Lina says that for the altars and other decorations, wood of old planks of ships and fishing boats was used. But when we get there, unfortunately the church is closed.
Palacio de Estei
Not far from the Church, a portal leads to the Jardines of the Palace of ESTIO. We can take a look. The old Solariega house is a magnificent 18th century building. For a while, the old summer residence of a wealthy family was owned by the State, but maintenance is expensive, so the palace now houses a luxury hotel. Fortunately, the gardens of the lower part of the complex are still open to the public and the entrance is free for all. An avenue leads to a double ladder decorated everywhere with blue tiles.
In the center there is a small room, similar to a cave, with the source of the three thanks. The small room is completely decorated with old Roman shells and mosaics. The busts of Emperor Guillermo and Empress Augusta rest in the shadow of the palm trees. When I look at Lina with surprise and ask, she explains the connection. This veneration of the German imperial couple in a Portuguese garden has its origin in the fact that María II, the penultimate Portuguese queen, married Prince Fernando de Saxony-Coburg-Gotha in the nineteenth century. The Coburg-Banganza dynasty ruled the kingdom of Portugal until 1910.
At the top of the stairs, a door blocks the passage. From here you need a key to approach the castle. Only hotel or restaurant guests have access to this part of the complex.
Located between Naranjos and Limoneros, a French garden extends next to an annex with a pool, intelligently hidden in the landscape. A look attentive to the ground reveals Roman mosaics again. It is assumed that some of the columns and other decorations of the garden also come from the nearby ruins of a Roman archaeological site. In previous centuries, the recycling of old and beautiful stones found somewhere and used simply to build houses or decorate gardens was a common practice throughout Europe.
With views of the Formosa estuary and an avenue of old columns, we enjoy our food on the hotel’s restaurant terrace.
Ruins of Milreu
After dinner we will visit the ruins of Milreu, an archaeological site not far from this. For a long time, the people here did not know the important role that some of the cities of Algarve had played in the Roman era. Archaeologists looked for a long time the Roman city of Ossonoba. When marble columns were found on this site, it was assumed that the settlement was here in Milreu. It was only in the 1940s when a German archaeologist found the remains of a Roman forum in lighthouse, proof that Faro and no Milreu had to be the Ossonoba they were looking for. This made it clear that it should be another settlement or a large agricultural farm.
The abundance of water in this area favored agriculture, but fishing and processing of fishing products, such as the Roman garum, were undoubtedly among the most lucrative businesses of the Algarve at that time. Perhaps the temple was used to thank important gods of water as Neptune. That would explain the numerous fish motifs.
The ruins of Milreu had to be owned by a rich Patricio, because in addition to residential and agricultural buildings, a small temple, an oil mill, a cellar and thermal baths with Caldarium, Tepidarium and Frigidarium were found. The rich lord of the house probably received noble guests or business partners with a luxurious bath in the hot springs before dinner together and receive the most delicious delicacies from slaves and servants.
It is really impressive to be among the old walls, despite the fact that many witnesses of the past were transported to the Faro Museum or “Recycled” by the inhabitants of the area long before the archaeologist’s discovery.
It is said that the remains of the brick building are the ruins of a Christian church dating from the Visigothic period. In front of it you can still see walls with beautifully decorated fish mosaics. Perhaps someday, with the help of a computer animation program on a tablet or smartphone, it will be possible to revive the past, at least visually. That would be very good, because the town should be really magnificent.
Information about Estei and Milreu
As it almost always happens on my trips, I travel with a guide in the Algarve because I learn more about the country and its people than if it were alone. You can find information about my favorite city guide, which also organizes excellent walks and walks through nature, here
Ruins of Milreu
Estoi
8000 Faro
monumentosdoalgarve.pt
Wikipedia has a very detailed article dedicated to ruins: wikipedia.org/wiki/milreu
The entrance costs 2 euros (from 2022). Opening hours: from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (until 18:00 in the summer months).
You can find a very good video of approximately 12 minutes with explanations (in Portuguese) on this page. Approximately in the 5th and 10th minute, the models of the temple and the trichlinio are shown so that the complex can better imagine.
Only 8 km from the beacon doors is the luxury hotel, the pouse pouse Palacio Estei:
Street of São Jose
Estoi
8005-465 Faro
Pousada-Stoi
The living room and the old kitchen are a bit kitsch, but they are very well preserved. The restaurant is accessed through the old kitchen, where old bell buttons and original tiles can still be admired.
This article and her photographs was gently yielded by the author and originally published on her website.
The author loves to travel, and he believes that it is not always necessary to go very far, because even in central Europe there are still small unknown places, exciting landscapes and exciting stories that expect to be discovered. After finishing his studies, Nicole Biarnés moved to Spain, where he has resided near Barcelona for 23 years. As an independent writer, she writes travel books, writes texts for several websites, conducts in situ research for television productions and reports life in the Mediterranean in her travel blog www.freibeuter-reisen.org.
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