Alcochete () is a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 17,569,
[Instituto Nacional de Estatística]
/ref> in an area of 128.36 km².Setúbal District
The District of Setúbal ( ) is a district located in the south-west of Portugal. It is named for its capital, the city of Setúbal.
Geography
It is delimited by Lisbon District and Santarém District on the north, Évora District on the eas ...
.
Alcochete is known for its bullfighting
Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations.
There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
tradition and its proximity to the second-longest bridge in Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, the Vasco da Gama Bridge.
The actual site of present-day Alcochete was already occupied during Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
times with a clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
production facility. Its name is thought to derive from the Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
word for oven for reasons not yet understood. It became a vacation site preferred by the Portuguese royalty and the future king D. Manuel I was born in the village. It has experienced major development due to the construction of the Vasco da Gama Bridge.
On 10 January 2008 Portuguese prime minister José Sócrates
José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa (born 6 September 1957), commonly known as José Sócrates (), is a Portuguese politician who was the prime minister of Portugal from 12 March 2005 to 21 June 2011. For the second half of 2007, he acted ...
announced that Alcochete had been selected as the site of the new airport serving Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, Portugal's capital. The location of Alcochete as the construction site of the future Lisbon Airport was confirmed by the Portuguese Government on May 8, 2008.
Sporting Clube de Portugal
Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries, has a football training facility (Academia Sporting
The Academia Cristiano Ronaldo (English: Cristiano Ronaldo Academy), formerly known as Academia Sporting () and also known as Academia de Alcochete (English: Alcochete Academy), is the name given to the football training facilities of Sporting ...
in Alcochete), which accommodated Portugal during the Euro 2004 competition.
Demographics
Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 3 civil parishes ('' freguesias''):
Notable people
* Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate (), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manu ...
(1469–1521) King of Portugal
This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution.
Thro ...
from 1495 to 1521, member of the House of Aviz
The House of Aviz (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Casa de Avis'' ), also known as the Joanine Dynasty (''Dinastia Joanina''), was a dynasty of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which flourished during the Portuguese Renaissance, Renaissanc ...
* Francisco Rodrigues da Cruz
Francisco Rodrigues da Cruz, Society of Jesus, SJ (29 July 1859 – 1 October 1948), more commonly known as Father Cruz () was a Portuguese Catholic Church, Catholic priest. Revered in Portugal for his apostolic fervor and charity, he visited pr ...
(1859–1948) a Portuguese priest of the Catholic Church, known as ''Father Cruz''
* Frederico Barrigana (1922–2007) a Portuguese football goalkeeper with 260 caps with FC Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...
.
* Francisco Bolota (born 1946) a Portuguese former footballer with approximately 250 club caps
External links
Town Hall official websitePhotos from ALCOCHETE
References
{{Authority control
Towns in Portugal
Populated places in Setúbal District
Municipalities of Setúbal District