In the first half of the sixteenth century, the society of the Algarve’s most prosperous city had enough resources to be able to build and embellish new temples and palaces with works of artistic merit. Very early on, Tavira had become a busy architectural hub marked by the acceptance of the new Italian Renaissance fashion. This could be seen from the many documents commissioning works with descriptions such as “in Roman-style”, “Roman stone” and “Modern Roman”. Unrivalled at this time in the context of constructive landscaping, not only in Tavira but in the whole eastern Algarve, was undoubtedly the figure of local architect André Pilarte. Highly-acclaimed in Tavira, the artist came from the workshops of the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, where he had worked. Around 1530, he was living and working in his native city of Tavira, where he designed and directed the building of the Misericórdia Church (1541-51) as well as other important Renaissance works. From the mid-sixteenth century onwards, it was clear to see that the city was falling into decline both economically and strategically. The situation was worsened by the abandonment of several possessions in North Africa, by the Spanish domination and by the progressive silting of the River Gilão, which contributed to a fall in trading at Tavira’s port. Despite the city’s loss of importance, new constructions were still being built, although now in the austere “estilo chão” (plain style), characterised by its formal austerity and lack of decorative features, values which would be hugely successful in architecture until the Baroque style made its appearance in the eighteenth century.