SANTA BÁRBARA DE NEXE
37° 06' 15" N; 7° 57' 51" W
Santa Bárbara de Nexe is a Portuguese village and parish in the municipality of Faro, with an area of 38.22 km² and 4379 inhabitants (2021 census). Its population density is 114.6 inhabitants/km², which allows it to be classified as a Low Density Area.
Location
In the Algarve, Portugal, between Faro, Loulé and São Brás de Alportel, between the sea and the mountains, in a Mediterranean environment, 10 km from Faro International Airport and several beaches and golf courses, it is served by the EM 520 and the nodes from Loulé-Sul and Faro / S. Brás on the A22-Via do Infante. On its borders are the Algarve Stadium and Parque das Cidades.
Main activities
Tourism, commerce, small industries, stone extraction and processing, services and agriculture.
History
The human presence in the Parish of Santa Bárbara de Nexe dates back to the transition from the Middle Paleolithic to the Upper Paleolithic (around 30,000 years ago) and to the people of the pre-Roman prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula, namely the Cinetes or Cónios. It was later influenced by the Phoenicians, incorporated by the Romans, part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania, and conquered by the Moors and incorporated into Algarbe Alandalus.
The parish would be incorporated into the Kingdom of Portugal during the final period of the Portuguese Reconquista against the Moors, in 1271, by King D. Afonso III. The oldest written reference to this Parish, to the place of “Neixe”, appears to be from 1291 in a delimitation of the Terms (Counties) of Faro and Loulé. It should also be noted that the construction of the Main Church began in the 14th century, on the site of an old hermitage, where it was said that “miracles happened” and which was the site of regional pilgrimages. Santa Bárbara de Nexe became a Parish in the 16th century.
The oldest known inhabitant of the Parish was the Roman citizen Sextus Numísio Eros (from the 2nd century), mentioned on a local funerary tombstone.
Patrimony
Cultural heritage
Main Church of Santa Bárbara de Nexe - The construction of the Main Church, one of the largest and most important in the rural Algarve, began in the 14th century, on the site of an existing old hermitage, where “miracles” were reported and which was a place for pilgrimages regional. It was the target of important interventions in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is a building with three naves and five bays, with pointed arches supported by columns. A triumphal arch exuberantly decorated with branches and trunks, in pure Manueline style, separates the central nave from the main chapel, whose roof is decorated by a starry vault, with five keys, connected by rope-shaped combinations. The north-facing nave has three chapels, with paintings from the 16th century, baroque carved altarpieces and "rocaille". There are also several patterned tile coverings and a panel of figurative tiles that tops the triumphal arch.
Chapel of Santa Catarina dos Gorjões - Temple of late-medieval origin (15th century), with a single nave and chancel. It is a hermitage with a popular nature and great simplicity of lines, with a longitudinal plan with buttresses.
The accordion in Bordeira makes this part of the parish a capital of composers and performers of this musical instrument, including José Ferreiro Pai (the soul of the true corridinho and the author of the famous corridinho “Alma Algarvia”) and João Barra Bexiga (the philosopher of the lived life and eternal romantic accordion).
The art of stonework and artistic works in stone, with references from great masters of the 20th century: Anicetos de Bordeira, namely Dionísio Aniceto, João Madeira and Tomás Ramos.
Ancient windmills and water wells.
Natural patrimony
In the Algarve barrocal, between the sea and the mountains, Terra de Nexe is an authentic Mediterranean natural amphitheater on the first slopes of the Serra de Monte Figo, with stunning views over the Ria Formosa and the Atlantic Ocean, much appreciated by tourists.
Local Products
Contract crafts, abegoria, stonework and artistic stone, almond and fig sweets.
Routes
Pedestrian trails, starting from various points in Terra de Nexe, with the ancient windmills as a reference, along ancient rural paths, allow you to delight in the Mediterranean flora and fauna, stunning landscapes and the ancient heritage of windmills and wells of water.
Villages
Agostos; Alagoas; Aldeia; Benatrite; Bordeira; Canal; Charneca; Colmeal; Falfosa; Goldra de Baixo;
Goldra de Cima; Gorjões; Ladeira; Laranjeira; Medronhal; Palhagueira; Pé do Cerro; Poço Mouro;
Quinta das Raposeiras; Santa Bárbara de Nexe; Telheiro; Valados
PATACÃO (FARO)
37° 3' 38" N; 7° 57' 20" W
