This nice Algarve town keeps its labirynth of small narrow streets, sided by white houses, with a special note to the towers of the old Castle. The vertical lines of the minaret that remains of of old mosque and the horseshoe shaped archways of the Market lend it a vague arabic tone. By the Tenente Cabeçadas square observe a beautiful gothic portico that once was part of a convent and do visit the churches of São Clemente, Matriz de Loulé and Misericórdia.
When you enter in Leiria you can’t avoid noticing the castle that, from the top, seems to welcome those coming into the city. Conquered to the Moors in 1135, by D. Afonso Henriques, the castle passed, for many years, from hand to hand between Moors and Christians. In 1190, D. Sancho I ordered its reconstruction. Later in 1325 D. Dinis orders the construction of the Torre de Menagem that, nowadays, shelters a museological nucleus, where you will get to know the castle activity in past times. It was also by D. Dinis order that the Nossa Senhora da Pena Church …
The ancient Citadel, as well as important sections of the wall that surrounded the population, are still preserved. Archaeological work carried out in the Citadel of the Castle uncovered a Moorish quarter of centuries XII\/XIII, and various Roman structures of the 4th century. The Arab ceramic pieces found are exposed in the core of the Museum of Mértola.
