Olhão, officially the City of Olhão da Restauração, is a city and 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 and forming a single urban agglomeration, it is a fishing port and tourist center. Along with Faro, Loulé and Tavira, Olhão forms a conurbation from the eastern and central Algarve.

History

thumb|225px|left|An [[azulejo depicting the famous trip to Brazil of representatives of the revolt against the French occupation]]

thumb|225px|left|The Chapel of Senhor dos Aflitos at the rear of the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário in the parish of Olhão

thumb|225px|left|Praça Patrão Joaquim Lopes. The plaza in front of the two market houses.

Since pre-history, Olhão has had vestiges of human occupation, although the oldest written record dates only from 1378, referring to a place called Olham. The estuary and abundance of water were decisive factors that influenced fishermen, at the beginning of the 17th century, to congregate along the beach of Olhão. It is located within the morphological sub-regions of the Barrocal and coast. In the Barrocal, the municipality is limited in the north by the old massif and south with the sand-stones of the Mesozoic.

  • Moncarapacho e Fuseta
  • Olhão
  • Pechão
  • Quelfes

Economy

Olhão is a fishing port and a center for industrial fish and seafood processing, home to the Bela brand of canned sardines and Conserveira do Sul's Manná range of processed fish and seafood products which also include canned sardines and a wide range of other products such as fish and seafood pastes. The city is also an important tourist destination of coastal Algarve and plays a role as a tourist accommodation, logistics and transportation hub for the Ria Formosa islands located in front of the city, namely the Armona Island and the Culatra Island. The annual seafood festival of Olhão is a major attraction in the city every year.

Sports

Olhão is home to Sporting Clube Olhanense whose main football team plays in the Estadio José Arcanjo, a multi-purpose stadium in the city that holds 11,622 spectators and was built in 1984.

Notable people

thumb|140px|Maria Barroso, 2013

  • Alberto Iria (1909–1992) a Portuguese historian, a specialist in the history of the Algarve
  • Maria Barroso (1925–2015) a politician and actress, wife of President of Portugal Mario Soares and First Lady of Portugal 1986-1996
  • João Arménio Correia Martins (born 1951) scientist in computational mechanics, developed the compliance friction law
  • Mário Centeno (born 1966) an economist, university professor, politician and Minister of Finance from 2015
  • Júlio Resende (born 1982) a pianist, composer, jazz musician and bandleader

Sport

  • João Paulo Brito (born 1974), a retired footballer with 230 club caps
  • Ruben Faria (born 1974), a rally-raid and enduro motorcycle rider
  • Vasco Fernandes (born 1986), a footballer of Guinea-Bissauan descent with over 300 club caps
  • Gonçalo Ramos (born 2001), a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain
  • Gonçalo Fernandes, son of Manchester United Captian Bruno Fernandes

See also

  • S.C. Olhanense

Notes

References