A strong performance at the Algarve’s regional monuments has seen record breaking numbers of visitors so far this year, with the Fortaleza de Sagres the most visited.
The Regional Directorate of Culture’s collection of monuments has attracted nearly 500,000 visitors, visiting varously the Sagres Fortress, the Hermitage of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Megalithic Monument of Alcalar and the Roman Ruins of Milreu among others.
The Directorate says numbers at the key sites are up 10.6% on last year but have fallen at others. The strong visitor flow to the Sagres Fortress ensured that the overall figure has been one of growth.
It's foreigners that are attracted by the history of the region, with 85.36% of visitors to these historic sites coming from outside the country.
It haelps that money has been spent at the Sagres Fortress, the Megalithic Monuments and the Roman Ruins, all have benefited from the CRESC ALGARVE 2020 grants programme.
Additional funds have been applied for, to increase accessibility at the Sagres Fortress and the Hermitage of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The application for work at the fortress has been successful.
As for recognition, the Directorate said, "the work carried out on these monuments over the years has been recognised, namely the Sagres Fortress with the attribution of the European Heritage Label in 2015, and more recently the honorary title of ‘International Place of Culture and Peace’ assigned to it by the International Observatory on Human Rights.”
These excellent figures are of academic interest only to Alexandra Rodrigues Gonçalves, the Director of Regional Culture, who is to be relieved of her position, making way for Adriana Nogueira, an assistant professor in the department of Arts and Humanities at the University of Algarve and director of its library, who takes over on December 16th.
