Sao Bartolomeu de Messines
An interior market town at the crossroads of the Algarve's central uplands, known for its red sandstone church and local poet.
Sao Bartolomeu de Messines, commonly shortened to Messines, is an inland town in the municipality of Silves, situated at the junction of the EN124 and EN269 roughly 20 kilometres north of Albufeira. The town has a population of around 5,000 and serves as the commercial and administrative centre for a large rural parish that stretches from the barrocal foothills into the Serra do Caldeirao. It is a working town rather than a tourist destination, and its value to visitors lies in the authenticity of its daily life.
The town's most notable building is the Igreja Matriz, a parish church built from the distinctive red sandstone that characterises the Silves region. The church has Manueline and Renaissance elements and was substantially rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake. Inside, the twisted Manueline columns in red stone are particularly striking, a warm contrast to the whitewashed walls. There are good azulejo panels in the nave depicting biblical scenes, and the carved wooden ceiling dates from the 17th century. The church sits on a raised platform in the town centre, surrounded by a small garden with benches under shade trees.
Messines has a literary association with the poet Joao de Deus (1830-1896), one of the most popular Portuguese poets of the 19th century and the creator of the Cartilha Maternal, a revolutionary method for teaching children to read that remained in use in Portuguese schools for decades. Joao de Deus was born in Messines, and a bust and small museum in the town commemorate his life and work. His poetry, romantic in style but rooted in the textures of everyday life, remains widely known in Portugal and is taught in schools to this day.
The town has a functional commercial centre with supermarkets, banks, cafes, a health centre, schools and a weekly market. The market is a good place to buy local produce including oranges, almonds, honey and the regional cheese. Several restaurants serve traditional food, and the town is known locally for its grilled meats and game dishes, reflecting the hunting traditions of the surrounding hills where wild boar, rabbit and partridge are still pursued in season. The cooking here is hearty and seasonal, a world away from the tourist menus on the coast.
The countryside around Messines is transitional, lying between the fertile barrocal to the south and the poorer schist uplands to the north. The Barragem do Funcho, a reservoir on the Rio Arade about five kilometres west of town, is a popular spot for picnicking and birdwatching, with the wooded shores attracting kingfishers, herons and birds of prey. The reservoir also supplies much of the Algarve's drinking water. The Via Algarviana long-distance trail passes through the area on its east-west traverse of the interior.
Messines sits at a key road junction and is well served by public transport, with bus connections to Silves, Albufeira and the interior. The town is not a tourist destination in any conventional sense, but it offers a truthful picture of Algarvean life in the interior and is a practical stopping point on journeys between the coast and the mountains. The red sandstone church alone makes it worth a brief stop.