Faro District ( ) is the southernmost district of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. The area is the same as that of the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

region. The administrative centre, or district capital, is the city of Faro. It borders

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Municipalities

The district is composed of 16

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

: *

Albufeira Albufeira (, ), officially the City of Albufeira (), is a List of cities in Portugal, city and Concelho, municipality of Faro District in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2021 was 44,158, in an area of . The city proper ...

Alcoutim Alcoutim () is a town and a municipality in southeastern Portugal near the Portugal–Spain border. The population in 2011 was 2,917, in an area of 575.36 km². It is the least densely populated municipality in Portugal. The municipality i ...

Aljezur Aljezur (), officially the Town of Aljezur (), is a town and municipality of the District of Faro and Algarve region, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,884, in an area of 323.50 km2. The municipality comprises 4 parishes. History ...

Castro Marim Castro Marim (), officially the Town of Castro Marim (), is a town and a municipality in the southern region of Algarve, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 6,747, in an area of 300.84 km2. The current mayor is Francisco Amaral, elected ...

* Faro * Lagoa *

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Loulé Loulé () is a city and Concelho, municipality in the region of Algarve, Faro District, district of Faro, Portugal. In 2021, the population of the entire municipality was 72,373 inhabitants, in an area of approximately . The municipality has two p ...

Monchique Monchique () is a municipality of southern Portugal, in Faro District (province of Algarve). The population in 2011 was 6,045, in an area of 395.30 km2. The Municipality of Monchique is situated in the Serra de Monchique and together with th ...

Olhão Olhão (), officially known as Olhão da Restauração, is a city and concelho, municipality in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 45,396, in an area of . Located near the regional capital Faro, ...

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

São Brás de Alportel São Brás de Alportel () is a town and municipality in the District of Faro, Algarve region, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 10,662, in an area of 153.37 km2. The present Mayor is Vítor Guerreiro, elected by the Socialist Party. The ...

* Silves *

Tavira Tavira (), officially the City of Tavira (), is a Portuguese town and municipality, capital of the ''Costa do Acantilado'', situated in the east of the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal. It is east of Faro and west of Huelva across the riv ...

Vila do Bispo Vila do Bispo () is a municipality (''concelho'') in the Portuguese Algarve. It has 5,717 inhabitants in an area of 179.06 km2. History The first references to this region referred to the ''Aldeia do Bispo'' in the 14th century, in a char ...

Vila Real de Santo António Vila Real de Santo António () is a city, civil parish, and municipality in the Algarve, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,156, in an area of 61.25 km2. It is one of the few municipalities in Portugal without territorial continuity: its ...

All 16 municipalities are divided into 67 parishes or freguesias.

Cities

* Faro * Lagoa *

* Quarteira (Loulé) * Silves *

Villages

* Alcantarilha (Silves) *

* Algoz (Silves) * Almancil (Loulé) *

Alvor (Portimão) Alvor is a civil parish () in the municipality of Portimão, in the southern Algarve of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 6,154, in an area of 15.25 km². History Alvor was founded in 436 B.C. by the Carthaginian General Aníbal Barca ...

* Armação de Pêra (Silves) *

* Bensafrim (Lagos) * Cabanas de Tavira (Tavira) *

Carvoeiro (Lagoa) Carvoeiro is a town and a former Freguesia (Portugal), civil parish in the municipality (''concelho'') of Lagoa, Algarve, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new civil parish Lagoa e Carvoeiro. The population in 2011 was 2,721, in an area ...

* Estômbar (Lagoa) * Ferragudo (Lagoa) * Fuseta (Olhão) * Luz (Lagos) * Luz de Tavira (Tavira) * Mexilhoeira Grande (Olhão) * Moncarapacho (Olhão) *

Monte Gordo (Vila Real de Santo António) Monte Gordo is a town and a freguesia (parish) of the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António, in the southeastern corner of Algarve, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 3,308, in an area of 4.22 km2. Formerly a fishermen's town, Monte G ...

* Odeceixe (Aljezur) * Odiáxere (Lagos) * Parchal (Lagoa) *

Pêra (Silves) Pêra () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Silves, Portugal.Detail Regional Map, Algarve- Southern Portugal, In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Alcantarilha e Pêra. The village is south east of Silves and is south ...

Porches (Lagoa) Porches is a civil parish/freguesia in the municipality of Lagoa in Portugal, about 10 km east of the city of Lagoa. The population in 2011 was 2,011, in an area of 15.64 km2. It was elevated to the status of a town on July 12, 2001. H ...

Sagres (Vila do Bispo) Sagres is a Freguesia (Portugal), civil parish in the concelho, municipality of Vila do Bispo Municipality, Vila do Bispo, in the southern Algarve of Portugal. It has 1,894 inhabitants (2021) in an area of . It is historically connected to the ea ...

* Salir (Loulé) * Santa Luzia (Tavira) * São Bartolomeu de Messines (Silves) *

* Vila Nova de Cacela (Vila Real de Santo António)

History

Pre-Roman Times

In Pre-Roman Portugal, the area was inhabited by the

Cynetes The Cynetes or Conii were one of the pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, living in today's Algarve and Lower Alentejo regions of southern Portugal, and the southern part of Badajoz and the northwestern portions of Córdoba and Ciudad R ...

(or Conii), a people (formed by several

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s) of linguistic and ethnic affiliation, possibly

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Iberian Iberian refers to Iberia. Most commonly Iberian refers to: *Someone or something originating in the Iberian Peninsula, namely from Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. The term ''Iberian'' is also used to refer to anything pertaining to the fo ...

, whose territory included the modern area of the

Beja District The Beja District (; ) is located in southern Portugal. The district capital is the city of Beja. It is the largest district of the country by area, comprising around 11% of Portuguese territory. It borders Spain. Municipalities The district i ...

. This former territory of the ''Cysteines'' ran from the mouth of the Mira River all the way to the

Guadiana River The Guadiana River ( , , , ) is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from la Mancha and the ea ...

. It is possible that they were related to the

Tartessos Tartessos () is, as defined by archaeological discoveries, a historical civilization settled in the southern Iberian Peninsula characterized by its mixture of local Prehistoric Iberia, Paleohispanic and Phoenician traits. It had a writing syste ...

(people whose linguistic and ethnic affiliation is also not yet fully known or determined), but were not the same people.

Roman Times

Before the definitive integration of the canons into the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, during the period from about 200 BC to 141 BC, they were under strong Roman influence, but enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. In part due to the favorable relationship with the Romans, the colonies had some conflicts with the

Lusitanians The Lusitanians were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people living in the far west of the Iberian Peninsula, in present-day central Portugal and Extremadura and Castilla y Leon of Spain. It is uncertain whether the Lusitanians ...

, who under the leadership of

Caucenus Caucenus (known as ''Cauceno'' in Portuguese and Spanish) was a chieftain of the Lusitanians, a proto-Celtic tribe from western Hispania. He was an important military figure during the earlier phase of the Lusitanian War. Biography Caucenus c ...

, the Lusitanian leader before

Viriathus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, Spanish; died 139 Anno Domini, BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanians, Lusitanian people that resisted Roman Republic, Roma ...

, had conquered their territory for some time, including the capital,

Conistorgis Conistorgis was the main city of the Conii or Cynetes. In the Conii language it probably meant "city of the Conii". The Celtici seem to have been present there. Location Conistorgis was located somewhere in the interior of the Algarve, in sout ...

(whose location is still not known, but is thought to be in modern-day Faro or

) in 153 BC. Partly due to the conflict with the Portuguese (and partly due to the cultural influence of Mediterranean civilizations), unlike many pre-Roman peoples of Portugal, they were allies of the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

for some time and not their opponents, differing from the attitude of most of the other peoples, such as the Lusitanians who were strong opponents of the Romans. Nevertheless, a while later, in the context of the Lusitanian Wars, in the year of 141BC, the ''Conidia'' revolted against the Roman Empire, along with the

Turduli The Turduli (Greek ''Tourduloi'') or Turtuli were an ancient pre-Roman people of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula. Location The Turduli tribes lived mainly in the south and centre of modern Portugal – in the east of the provinces of Beira ...

of Beturia (also called betures), but were quickly defeated by

Quintus Fabius Maximus Servilianus Quintus Fabius Maximus Servilianus was the adoptive son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus and the natural son of Gnaeus Servilius Caepio (consul in 169 BC)--hence the adoptive cognomen Servilianus. He was consul of the Roman Republic in 142 BC ...

, a Roman

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

, and was definitively integrated into the Roman Empire.

Barbarian Era

Despite being conquered by the so-called barbarian peoples (

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

Suebi file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple. The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...

, and later

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

) at the time of Barbarian migrations or invasions,

Roman culture The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1,200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day L ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

remained there for a period of time. In the year 552, the current area of

was regained by the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

(then governed by

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

), and a government was appointed that lasted until the year 571, when King Liuvigild conquered it for the

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...

Fauna

The Cape St. Vincent is situated in a route of

migrating birds Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

, allowing for the seasonal observation of the variety of bird life. The

subsoil Subsoil is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. Like topsoil, it is composed of a variable mixture of small particles such as sand, silt and clay, but with a much lower percentage of organic matter and humus. The su ...

of the district is inhabited by several

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

unique to Faro, some still just being discovered. The most emblematic species of the underground fauna of the Algarve are the giant pseudo-scorpion of the Algarve caves (''Titanobochica magna'') and the largest terrestrial cave insect in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, ''Squamatinia algharbica''.

Summary of votes and seats won (1976–2022)

, - class="unsortable" !rowspan=2, Parties!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S , - class="unsortable" style="text-align:center;" !colspan=2 , 1976 !colspan=2 , 1979 !colspan=2 , 1980 !colspan=2 , 1983 !colspan=2 , 1985 !colspan=2 , 1987 !colspan=2 , 1991 !colspan=2 , 1995 !colspan=2 , 1999 !colspan=2 , 2002 !colspan=2 , 2005 !colspan=2 , 2009 !colspan=2 , 2011 !colspan=2 , 2015 !colspan=2 , 2019 !colspan=2 , 2022 , - , style="text-align:left;", PS , , style="background:#f6f;", 44.6 , , style="background:#f6f;", 6 , , 34.0 , , 3 , , 34.7 , , 4 , , style="background:#f6f;", 43.2 , , style="background:#f6f;", 5 , , 22.3 , , 2 , , 24.9 , , 3 , , 31.2 , , 3 , , style="background:#f6f;", 49.6 , , style="background:#f6f;", 5 , , style="background:#f6f;", 48.4 , , style="background:#f6f;", 5 , , style="background:#f6f;", 40.5 , , style="background:#f6f;", 4 , , style="background:#f6f;", 49.3 , , style="background:#f6f;", 6 , , style="background:#f6f;", 31.9 , , style="background:#f6f;", 3 , , 23.0 , , 2 , , style="background:#f6f;", 32.8 , , style="background:#f6f;", 4 , , style="background:#f6f;", 36.8 , , style="background:#f6f;", 5 , , style="background:#f6f;", 39.9 , , style="background:#f6f;", 5 , - , style="text-align:left;", PSD , , 19.3 , , 2 , , style="text-align:center;" colspan="4" rowspan="2", ''In AD'' , , 23.1 , , 2 , , style="background:#f90;", 28.4 , , style="background:#f90;", 3 , , style="background:#f90;", 46.7 , , style="background:#f90;", 5 , , style="background:#f90;", 50.8 , , style="background:#f90;", 5 , , 29.2 , , 3 , , 29.5, , 3 , , 37.7 , , 4 , , 24.6 , , 2 , , 26.2 , , 3 , , style="background:#f90;", 37.0 , , style="background:#f90;", 4 , , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" rowspan="2", ''In PàF'' , , 22.3 , , 3 , , 24.4 , , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;", CDS-PP , , 6.8 , , , , 7.4 , , , , 6.1 , , , , 3.1 , , , , 2.8 , , , , 8.3 , , , , 7.3 , , , , 8.3 , , , , 5.8 , , , , 10.7 , , 1 , , 12.7 , , 1 , , 3.8 , , , , 1.1 , , , - , style="text-align:left;", PCP/APU/CDU , , 14.5 , , 1 , , 20.3, , 2 , , 16.7 , , 1 , , 18.6 , , 2 , , 15.4 , , 2 , , 10.9 , , 1 , , 7.2 , , , , 7.8 , , , , 8.3 , , , , 6.3 , , , , 6.9 , , , , 7.8 , , , , 8.6 , , 1 , , 8.7 , , 1 , , 7.1 , , , , 4.8 , , , - , style="text-align:left;", AD , , colspan=2, , , style="background:#0ff;", 34.6 , , style="background:#0ff;", 4 , , style="background:#0ff;", 37.2 , , style="background:#0ff;", 4 , , colspan=26, , - , style="text-align:left;", PRD , , colspan=8, , , 20.5 , , 2 , , 6.3 , , , , colspan=20, , - , style="text-align:left;", BE , , colspan=16, , , 2.3 , , , , 2.8 , , , , 7.7 , , , , 15.3 , , 1 , , 8.2 , , 1 , , 14.1 , , 1 , , 12.3 , , 1 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", PàF , , colspan=26, , , 31.5 , , 3 , , colspan=4, , - ! Total seats , , colspan=12, 9 , , colspan=12, 8 , , colspan=8, 9 , - ! colspan=33, Source
Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Notes

{{coord, 37, 00, 54, N, 7, 56, 06, W, type:adm2nd_source:itwiki, display=title Districts of Portugal Districts in Algarve