Museums and Palaces

Housed in the annexe to the Igreja de Santo António, this museum was founded in 1934. It has a Renaissance portico originating from the Igreja do Compromisso Marítimo (the church of the fishermen’s mutual society), to which an iron gate has been adapted, made by local artists.

Inside is a vast collection of pieces divided into various sections: Archaeology, with pieces from the Neolithic, Luso-Iberian, Roman and Arab periods; Sacred Art, which occupies the sacristy of the church with paintings from the 18th century; the History of Lagos, whose exhibits include the Charter of Lagos, awarded by the king Dom Manuel I in 1504 and the Key to the City; Ethnography of the Algarve, where attention is drawn to the traditional means of transport used for carrying olive-oil, presented in the form of a small stuffed donkey; Numismatics, with Portuguese coins and others from the former Portuguese overseas territories; and a section on Mineralogy and Overseas Ethnography.