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After entering the museum, it is worth taking time to appreciate the adjacent church. The 18th-century interior, with its fantastic excess of gilded Baroque carvings, is sumptuous and impressive, and its finery is a compelling sight after a tour of the museum.

In terms of historical value, this is a priceless exhibit. Conferred on Lagos by Dom Manuel I in 1504, the beautiful leather volume binds a manuscript written on parchment. An exercise in fine calligraphy, the opening page is embossed with gold leaf.

An extraordinary 17th-century mobile altar that was carried by Portuguese troops into the field and used for prayer between military engagements. A carved statue of St Anthony rests on top of the altar, which is inlaid with gold leaf.

A number of fine examples are displayed in the Sacred Art wing of the museum, but the most outstanding garment is the one worn at the Mass attended by Dom Sebastião in 1578 before his disastrous incursion into Morocco. The robe is hand embroidered with gold.

A delightful anomaly, the 18th-century statue of Lagos’ patron saint is incorporated into the door of a cupboard used by the priests of the time to store their shoes and robes. Ask the custodian to open it up.

Manuel Cabanas (1902–95) was Portugal’s greatest exponent of wood engraving. This collection, bequeathed by his estate, is a small but select representation of a much greater portfolio on display in Vila Real de Santo António. See Vila Real and Castro Marim.

The life-size portrait of the late Portuguese thespian Estevão Amarante was painted by Fernando Santos in 1936. As you walk past the image the subsequent change in perspective appears to make Sr Amarante’s left foot move with you – an eerie sensation indeed!

Housed in the Ethnographic Hall is a remarkable labour of love: a huge scale model of an imaginary Algarve coastal town. Constructed with breathtaking attention to detail, it took Lagos resident Pedro Reis 5,300 hours to build over a three-year, seven-month period.

A mini masterpiece of cork whittling, this framed, three-dimensional retable was carved by Silves resident Francisco Figueiras in 1907. Brimming with fancy filigree, it’s so delicate that it will seem almost to tremble under your very gaze.

The impressive, near-complete Roman mosaic was unearthed in 1933 by the museum’s founder, Dr José Formosinho, near Budens, 10 km (6 miles) west of Lagos. Complementing it is a smaller but wholly intact example discovered at Abicada, 2 km (1 mile) east of Portimão.