Milreu Roman Ruins

Milreu was a substantial Roman villa occupied from the first century into the late empire, and it has two things most Portuguese villa sites do not. The bath complex retains mosaics of fish - bream, tuna, dolphins and others in black and white and colour, on walls as well as floors, which is unusual since wall mosaics rarely survive. And the temple beside the house stands to roof height: a small temple with a crypt, originally probably dedicated to a water cult, which was converted into a Christian church in the late antique or Visigothic period and continued in use, which is why it survived when everything around it fell. The residential range, the peristyle and the bath rooms are laid out and walkable. A sixteenth-century farmhouse on the site is part of the visit. Estói's rococo palace is a few hundred metres away.

History

The villa was built in the 1st century and occupied into the 10th; it was reorganised at the end of the 3rd century around a large peristyle, and in the 4th century the baths were decorated with mosaics of sea creatures. Its temple to a water deity became a Christian church after the 6th century, a farmhouse was built on the site in the 16th century, and the ruins were found in 1877 by the archaeologist Estácio da Veiga (Wikipedia, Roman ruins of Milreu).

The main sights

• The fish mosaics - marine species on floors and, unusually, on bath walls.
• The temple - standing to roof height, converted to a church and so preserved.
• The villa plan - residential range, peristyle and bath rooms laid out.
• The farmhouse - a sixteenth-century building on the site, included in the visit.

When to go

March to June and September to November. One hour. Closed Mondays. Combines with Estói palace's gardens next door.

Practical notes

Some mosaics are covered for protection and not always visible. No shade, and Algarve inland heat in summer is severe. The site is small. Signage is limited; the temple's story is the part worth understanding before arriving.

Nearby

Estói palace and its gardens are a short walk; Faro is south.

Key facts