page_title: Loulé
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Loulé / History
caption_attribution_description: Loule Church - The Algarve, Portugal
context_page_description: Loulé is a municipality in the Portuguese Algarve, district of Faro. In 2011, the population had 70,622 inhabitants, in an area of approximately 763.67 square kilometres. The municipality has two principal cities: Loulé and Quarteira.
context_section_description: Human presence in the territory of Loulé remotes to the Later Paleolithic. The growth of the settlement of Loulé likely stemmed from the late Neolithic, when small bands began rotating agricultural crops and herds around numerous subterranean cavities in its proximity (specifically around Goldra, Esparguina and Matos da Nora). Within the following millennium, the settlements began to grow and intensify with spread of Mediterranean cultures, that progressively penetrated the southwestern part of the peninsula. This culminated in the arrival of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, who founded the first trading posts along the maritime coast, increasing fishing, prospecting for minerals and commercial activities.
  After the 2nd century Punic War, the Roman provided a new impulse to economic activities, expanding the canning industry, agriculture and exploration of copper and iron. In the urban area of Loulé, a sculpted altar to the Goddess Diana, the rustic villages of Clareanes and Apra, and necropolises suggested the extent of Roman occupation. In the 5th century, the Suevians and Vandals, and later the Visigoths, destroyed many of the vestiges of Roman Empire, adapting and assimilating these earlier models of settlement and the cultural experiences of the native populations.
  The arrival of Muslim Arabs, in the 8th century, lead to the rise of the historic Al-'Ulya' (Loulé), consisting of a small almedina (fortified city) under the reign of Niebla, under the command of Taifa Ibne Mafom. The second half of the 12th century was an epoch marked by great political and military instability, with internal dissensions across the Garb Andaluz, supported by military constructions. It is possible that Al-'Ulya' was fortified during this period. The remains of the primitive keep remain, practically intact, the Taipa tower (Torre da Vela) situated along the old Rua da Corredora (today the Rua Engº Duarte Pacheco).
  The bell tower of Loulé St. Clemens Church (São Clemente) was originally a minaret of a former Muslim mosque. It is one of the few remaining Islamic religious architectural elements from the Arab Moor rule in Portugal. Located across the church is Jardim dos Amuados, which is an old Arab Muslim cemetery.
caption: St. Clemens Church belfry is an original minaret of a former Arab mosque in Loulé.[5]
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