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Municipal Museum of Tavira

The Municipal Museum of Tavira is a small museum in size but the purpose of this is to preserve, exhibit and promote the heritage of Tavira. After entering through the main door from the street, one comes across a structure under a protective glass.

 

Then stairs lead to the upper areas of the museum, this is where exhibitions are displayed. The current building of the Municipal Museum was boys’ school once. The building which houses the museum is quiet interesting and it also offers space to move around at the upper floor.

Stairs leading to the upper areas of the museum
A structure under glass cover, beside the main door
There was no date about the origin of this structure, it is 2.90m in diameter and 1.10m in depth, made with the local mortar
A skylight inside the Municipal Museum of Tavira
Arches inside the museum
This photograph shows that current building was a school once

 

Among other objects there is a personal emblem of the Monarch Manuel I (1469-1521), who raised the status of Tavira to a city in 1520. There is also a world map of al-Idrisi, this Arab geographer lived between 1100 to 1165.

World map of al-Idrisi
Personal emblem of the Monarch Manuel I
Objects on display here, range from the 12th century to the 19th - all of these items were found in Tavira
In this photo, an ampolla at the top is from the Iron Age - to the bottom left, piece is from the 13th century Islamic period
Fragments of the tombstones on display inside the he Museu Municipal de Tavira (Tavira Municipal Museum)
Nambal chest and missal stand from 16th/17th century Japan

 

A staircase leads to the lower parts of the museum where objects are displayed under the name ‘Mediterranean Food’. One could walk on to the flat roof of the building and enjoy panoramic views of the city. 

Mediterranean Food exhibition on display
It shows, how people had gathered, preserved and consumed different diets around the Mediterranean region
Most of these diets were very healthy and mostly consisted of fruits
Some of the packed food items on display to show how people had stored their food items in the past
One of the most important items were the olives, they were eaten and their oil was used in eating and cooking
Wheat and corn were two main crops which were used to make flour and bread
This section of the museum shows how grapes were grown and wine was processed in the Mediterranean region
Views from the roof of the museum