Albufeira council has turned its attention towards cultural heritage and architecture and has confirmed it has applied for European funds to renovate the old Igreja Matriz of Santa Maria and to transform the city's old court house into an Arts and Crafts Centre.
The decision to apply for funding from the Algarve 2020 grants programme was made at the council meeting on December 5th and these two projects have a budget of €2.45 million. The "Rehabilitation of the old Church of Albufeira" project alone will cost €1.6 million.
The work on the Church "involves the preservation, restoration and enhancement of the built vestiges of the Church, which correspond to the old Chapel, in order to adapt it as an exhibition space and for cultural activities, as well as the creation of a new space for public use, and a walled patio," states the council.
The Church first reference to the Church stated that it was built in 1305, the time of Dom Dinis, (1261 - 1325), and was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake and later burned down in 1833 during the liberal struggles. This makes the Church one of the oldest in the region.
The other project is for the "Rehabilitation to adapt the former Court to an Arts and Crafts Centre," at a cost of €850,000.
Work on Loulé’s Church, Igreja de S. Clemente, was approved in November. This Church probably was built on the site of the mosque of Al'-Ulyà and dates back to the second half of the C13th when the Archbishop of Braga commissioned the Dominican friars to build several Christian churches in the Algarve.
See also: https://algarvedailynews.com/news/13028-loule-s-main-church-to-be-repaired-and-renovated
