Sarilhos Pequenos is town on the south margin of the

Tagus River The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

, near

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. Once a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the municipality of

Moita Moita () is a municipality in the district of Setúbal (district), Setúbal in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 66,029, in an area of 55.26 km2. The municipality is part of the Greater Lisbon Area, with a demographic rate of 1.194,9/km2 ...

, in the district of

Setúbal Setúbal ( , , ; ), officially the City of Setúbal (), is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the entire municipality in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies withi ...

, it merged in 2013 into the new parish of

Gaio-Rosário e Sarilhos Pequenos Gaio-Rosário e Sarilhos Pequenos is a civil parish in the municipality of Moita, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost po ...

. With an area of approximately , the population of Sarilhos Pequenos was 1150 in 2011 (census data). Sarilhospequenos

History

Sarilhos Pequenos has been known historically as land of fishermen and fish-salters; until the 1960s-1970s, and for decades beforehand, 90% of its population was supported by the fishery from the ravines and rivers of the region. Its name is derived from the conversion process used in transforming the saltwater into salt, using a wooden device or ''sarilho'' that would permit the entry of water into the salt-flats. The water would be contained in compartments protected by one metre (3.3 ft) walls (or ''margateiras''), where evaporation would take place, and finally salt could be collected. Unlike the process encountered in ''Sarilhos Grandes'', the people of this parish used smaller devices, thereby achieving their fame and the

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...

for the area. Although this work disappeared with modern techniques, much of this cultures legacy has remained in the brightly painted small residences and the fishing nets, now used to stop insects. Further, the dockyard also preserves the historical connection the parish has with the water, with the construction and repair of the typical Tagus fishing boats.

Sport

Historically, the ''1º de Maio Futebol Clube Sarilhense'', known for raising some important football players, was founded on 5 January 1918, by then first president Orlando Santos. The club is considered the fourth oldest team in the district of Setúbal, whose roster included former local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

star Manuel Fernandes (who played in the

Sporting Club 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,

and the

Portugal national football team The Portugal national football team () has represented Portugal in men's international Association football, football competitions since 1921. The national team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), the governing body for ...

), later coach of

Vitória F.C. Vitória Futebol Clube (), popularly known as Vitória de Setúbal, is a Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Setúbal that used to compete in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system ...

References

{{authority control Freguesias of Moita Former parishes of Portugal