The Palácio da Fonte da Pipa, a 6th century building located in the Goncinha area, at the entrance to the city of Loulé, has been on fire since 10:XNUMX am this morning.
The fire is being fought by 23 operatives, from the Fire Departments of Loulé, Albufeira, São Brás and Sapadores de Faro, assisted by nine vehicles, GNR is also on site.
To what Sul Informação saw on the spot, the upper part of the palace collapsed and is completely destroyed. The flames are being fought using a magirus ladder to try to contain the fire in the upper part of the building.
The Palace has been abandoned and in marked degradation for years, with its ruined interior serving as a stage, in 2010, for a exhibition of José de Guimarães' African art collection, during the Allgarve.
In statements to the Sul Informação, the mayor of Loulé regretted what had happened, since it was “a sentimental heritage of the city”, despite belonging to private individuals and not being part of “the patrimony of the State or Municipal”.
The palace and the “large property” in which it is located belong to an English real estate fund, explained the mayor from Loulé, whose intention was to build an urbanization, despite “there is no legal basis for doing so.
“The palace was the main asset of that property and around which it was developed. But they never paid much attention to the property and it began to deteriorate. Now everything will be more difficult, as they lost their main asset. If before it was complicated, now…», he said.
This is because, despite the intentions of the owners of the property, «the PDM of Loulé does not recognize that area as building land». As for a possible appreciation of the centenary property that has now burned down, "there was no project in the Chamber in this regard," he assured.
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