Melides (, ) is a parish in the
Grândola
Grândola (, ) is a town (''vila'') and municipality in Setúbal District in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 13,822, in an area of . Besides the town of Grândola, it includes areas such as Tróia (part of Carvalhal parish), a peninsula betw ...
municipality in the
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 ...
of Portugal. It has an area of 155.2 km
2 and had 1,459 inhabitants as of the census of 2021. The agricultural parish borders the Atlantic Ocean and has become a popular area for summer homes. The village is located directly east of the Melides lagoon and its floodplain and its surrounding landscape includes forests of
eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
,
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
and
cork
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
.
History
Human occupation of the area dates back to the
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
era. The
Dolmen of Pedra Branca is a
megalithic
A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...
burial tomb from around 2500 BCE, while the
Necrópole de Cistas das Casas Velhas is a
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
necropolis
A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' ().
The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...
. Both can be visited.
The village is believed to date back to the end of the 15th century, when a parish was created in the church of
St. Marinha. It is believed to have been formed by the gradual concentration of houses from fishermen and farmers who lived in the vicinity.
The village possessed a small fishing port, but during the second half of the 16th century, silting closed off the lagoon's exit to the sea. Subsequently, the village's activity turned progressively towards agriculture and the production of pottery and cork products.
On 23 January 1626, a Dutch ship named Schoonhoven owned by the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
sank off the coast of Melides. Ship remains that may have belonged to Schoonhoven have been found inside the Melides lagoon by divers and in February 2021 in the sand bank, following heavy rainfall.
In the 18th century, St. Peter's church in Melides was built in the location of an existing shrine to
St. Peter. This replaced the church of Santa Marinha, which was located outside of the old village's center.
In 1870, Melides became part of the municipality of
Santiago do Cacém
Santiago do Cacém () is a municipality in Setúbal District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 29,749, in an area of 1059.69 km2.
The present mayor is Álvaro Beijinha, elected by the Unitary Democratic Coalition. The municipal holiday ...
. In 1895, it returned to being part of the Grândola municipality.
Present day
During the summer, the beaches in Melides attract tourists, contributing to the village's economy. There are a large number of summer houses near the beach, in the village and the surrounding hills.
In the parish, there is a luxury resort, with a golf course, as well as two large campsites. In the village, there is a small market hall where fresh fish is sold.
Rice is cultivated in the floodplain of the Melides lagoon and each year, around one thousand tonnes of rice are harvested. In recent years, the region has experienced water scarcity challenging rice farming in Melides. A project called Intertidal Melides aims to lower the water and fertilizer use in rice farming and to improve water availability by managing the water resources from source to sea.
Every year, a path is excavated between the lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean by the administration of Alentejo's hydrographic region. This water exchange is necessary to maintain the ecological and nutritional balance of the Melides lagoon.
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Setúbal District
Alentejo