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Casa Gago Faro

An architectural journey through Faro

Faro has a great variety of architectural heritage. Most of the city was built in the years between 1920 and 1980, these constructions belong to the architecture of modernism. A distinction is made between the style of Art Deco buildings, which are mainly located in the south of the city, and the South Modern, which are mainly found in the north-east of Faro.

The defining figure of this time was Manuel Gomes da Costa (1921-2016), who played a key role in shaping the cityscape of Faro. Modernism was also a political movement against the Portuguese dictator Salazar (1932-1968).

In fact, Faro is the city with the highest density of modernist buildings in all of southern Europe. There are around 500 buildings that still exist today. Some of these are sadly in need of some renovation and interest in modern architecture is a recent phenomenon.

Franziska and I did not look at all 500, but some of these buildings on our tour of Faro and sharpened our view of the beauty of this style. We will be back.

 

Chelsea Cafe Building
Tiles in Porto
Art Deco Faro
Modernist architecture
Tile structure Faro
IMG_6754_w_bea
Architecture Faro
Detail in Faro
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We stayed in one of the modernist buildings, built in 1974 by Portuguese architect Joel Santana, which has been extensively renovated by the current owners, Chris and Angelique.

You can find more about this here.
Our author Ina has already visited this enchanting place. Here for the blog article.

The Modernists
Staircase The Modernist
Faro

Photos: Judith Hehl

Comment

  • Fernanda

    The article "An architectural journey through Faro" on the Good Travel blog offers a fascinating insight into the city's modern architecture. It is particularly impressive to learn that Faro has the highest density of modernist buildings in Southern Europe, with around 500 preserved structures.
    The distinction between Art Deco in the south and South Modern in the northeast of the city shows the architectural diversity of Faro. The mention of Manuel Gomes da Costa as a key figure of this era illustrates the cultural and political context of modernism in Portugal. The authors' personal impressions and their accommodation in a sustainably renovated modernist building round off the article and make you want to explore Faro for yourself.

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