Vila Real de Santo António () is a city, civil parish, and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,156, in an area of 61.25 km². It is one of the few municipalities in Portugal without territorial continuity: its territory comprises two parts, with the municipal seat located in the eastern part. Vila Real de Santo António was founded after the

1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, All Saints' Day, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In ...

, and largely expanded in 1774 using the same architectural and construction techniques employed in the reconstruction of

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 ...

after the disaster. The city is situated next to the Guadiana river. Before the construction of the Guadiana International Bridge (in its neighboring upstream municipality of

Castro Marim Castro Marim (), officially the Town of Castro Marim (), is a town and a municipality in the southern region of Algarve, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 6,747, in an area of 300.84 km2. The current mayor is Francisco Amaral, elected ...

), it used to be the easiest access to Portugal from

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

(via ferry from the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

city of Ayamonte across the river). Nevertheless, international movement of people and goods is still intense and quite visible in the city.

History

The history of settlement in the region pre-dates the Pombalinan community of the 18th century. The coastline area of Vila Real was inhabited by Megalithic tribes who constructed

beehive tomb A beehive tomb, also known as a tholos tomb (plural tholoi; from , ''tholotoi táphoi'', "domed tomb(s)"), is a burial structure characterized by its false dome created by corbelling, the superposition of successively smaller rings of mudb ...

s in the area around Nora, near Cacela. The Romans, and much later the Arabs, made the settlement of Cacela an important village during their occupation of the territory, constructing fortifications to protect them from invading bands. In 1240,

Paio Peres Correia D. Paio Peres Correia (1205 – January 1275) was a Portuguese warrior who played an important role in the thirteenth-century Reconquista.López Fernández, Manuel (2003)"Sobre la muerte y enterramientos de un Maestre santiaguista"in ''Revista de ...

, master of the military

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

established Cacela as his point of departure for the reconquest of the Algarve, during the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

. Small settlements were eventually established near the Cacela, including many medieval fishing villages, such as Santo António de Arenilha along the coast. In the 17th century, the ''vila'' (''town'') of Santo António was an important frontier outpost, controlling commerce and developing the lucrative fishing grounds by establishing a fish processing industry. Vila Real de Santo António was a relatively recent community; the region was sparsely populated prior to its foundation and Cacela was the municipal seat of the existing municipality. For centuries,

was the only large town guarding the border with

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and the settlements in the region were small and undefended. On 30 December 1773, during the reign of

Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 *Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) * Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...

, a royal decree ordered the creation of a new town at the tip of the Algarve. The impetus for this decision is unclear, but there was several justifications for enhancing the settlement of the region, which included: increasing the human presence near the Spanish border, to prevent any incursions; to better control duties charged on cross-border activity; to be better defend the region from a full-scale attack; or to provoke Spain with a modern settlement that was easily seen from Ayamonte; or to simply rebuild the nearby town fishing village of Santo António de Arenilha and resettle its population. Santo António de Arenilha was destroyed by the same

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

that was triggered by the devastating

Regardless, the settlement was erected at great speed for the time (in only two years) and completed in 1776 using the latest technologies. The

Marquis of Pombal A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

was responsible for its planning, designing the town in a Pombaline orthogonal grid, which he also used during the reconstruction of Lisbon. In a pioneering technique, entire buildings were prefabricated in areas outside the town, and then transported to their final destination to be assembled, which permitted a fast and methodical construction of the town. Along the river, the customhouses (), was one of the first buildings to be completed during the Pombaline reconstruction, to house the offices of the ''Sociedades das Pescarias'' (fishing associations/societies), and dividing the settlement in two. The new "Royal Town" of Santo António () soon became the seat of the municipality, stripping the once important town of Cacela from this status. Cacela had, in the intervening years, gone into a steady decline as a result of the 1755 earthquake and attacks from English

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s and privateers. As the first canned fish undertaking in the country, the Vila Real de Santo António plant of Conservas Ramirez is the cradle of the sector in Portugal. Vila Real de Santo António thrived on the growth of the fishing industry, which included the processing of species of

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

and

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

. In 1886, it became the first city in the Algarve to have

gas lighting Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a fuel gas such as methane, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly by ...

installed. As the fishing industry went into decline (around the 1960s),

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

quickly took over as the main economic livelihood for many of its residents. The extensive stretches of sandy beaches attracted both national and international tourists, especially during the warm season. Monte Gordo is particularly visitor-oriented, counting with many hotels, bars and a

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

Geography

Physical geography

The municipality is bordered to the north by the municipality of

and to the west by the municipality of Tavira. It fronts the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to the south, and the Guadiana River to the east, along with its frontier border with the

n municipality of Ayamonte (

). Due to its Atlantic frontage, the municipality has several kilometers of continuous sandy beaches. The topography of the municipality is diverse. Marshes are common, especially north of the city where a section of the salty wetlands became the Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António Marsh Natural Reserve (established in 1975, this was continental Portugal's first nature reserve). Woodlands cover the planar civil parishes of Vila Real de Santo António and Monte Gordo, while in Vila Nova de Cacela, barren lands and

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

hills are more predominant. The easternmost part of the

Ria Formosa The Ria Formosa lagoon, located in the Algarve, in southern Portugal, is a system of barrier islands that connects to the sea through six inlets. Five of these inlets are natural and have mobility characteristics. The sixth is an artificial inle ...

system of lagoons is located in this civil parish.

Ecoregions/Protected areas

The establishment, in 1975, of the Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António Marsh Natural Reserve provided a refuge for several species of migratory and marine birds, namely

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...

Kentish plover The Kentish plover (''Anarhynchus alexandrinus'') is a small wader () of the family Charadriidae that breeds on the shores of saline lakes, lagoons, and coasts, populating sand dunes, marshes, semi-arid desert, and tundra.Székely, T., A. Argüel ...

little tern The little tern (''Sternula albifrons'') is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name ''Sterna albifrons''. It was moved to the genus '' Sternula'' whe ...

s, pied avocets,

dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader in the genus '' Calidris''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brown", with the suffix ''-ling'', meaning a person or ...

stilt Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates. They have extremely long legs, hence the grou ...

white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...

s, and

spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...

s, while at the same time protecting breeding grounds for local fish and

crustaceans Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of Arthropod, arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquat ...

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

s, and

jellyfish Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the #Life cycle, medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animal ...

(of the genus

Rhopilema ''Rhopilema'' is a genus of jellyfish. Species include: * ''Rhopilema asamushi'' * ''Rhopilema esculentum'' ("Bizen kurage") Kishinouye 1891 * ''Rhopilema hispidum'' ("Hizen kurage") Vanhoffen 1888 * ''Rhopilema nomadica'', (Indo-Pacific nomadic ...

) are among the species that can be found in the region and its coastal waters, while carob trees, gum rockrose, brooms and almond trees mingle within the forests and brush within the interior.

Climate

Vila Real de Santo António has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csa'') with short, mild winters and hot, dry summers. November and December are the rainiest months, although on average, the municipality has around 300 sunny days a year. It has, in general, the hottest summer temperatures and coolest winters of the Algarvian coast.

Human geography

Vila Real de Santo António is one of the most densely populated municipalities of the Algarve, with a population density above the national average. Administratively, the municipality is divided into 3 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Vila Real de Santo António - this civil parish contains the city of Vila Real de Santo António which in turn is the seat of the municipality; * Monte Gordo - the civil parish includes the seaside town and tourist resort of Monte Gordo, which is located less than three kilometers from the city of Vila Real de Santo António and separated by a large section of woodland. * Vila Nova de Cacela - this civil parish is a (rare) exclave of Portugal; it is separated from the other two civil parishes by the parishes of Altura and

(both comprising the municipality of

), effectively splitting Cacela from the rest of the municipality. The town of Vila Nova de Cacela was formed in 1927 when the seat of the civil parish was transferred from Cacela Velha (then known as simply ''"Cacela"'') to a new urban agglomeration formed by the villages of Bornacha, Buraco and Coutada. The town and popular seaside resort of

Manta Rota Manta Rota is a small seaside town in the freguesia, civil parish of Vila Nova de Cacela, List of Portuguese municipalities, municipality of Vila Real de Santo António Municipality, Vila Real de Santo António, in the Algarve, Portugal. Manta R ...

is located in this civil parish, next to Cacela Island (which is actually a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

Economy

Tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

and

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

continue to be important to the economy of the region. However, the fish industry went into decline in the 1960s and

quickly took over as the economic engine of the municipality, attracting both national and international tourists, especially during the warm season. The tertiary sector, particularly administration/government services and support industries are concentrated in the parish of Vila Real. It is common for inhabitants to commute to Spain for work in the Ayamonte area.

Transportation

Vila Real de Santo António station is the eastern terminus of the railway from Faro and Lagos. The Portuguese Railways operate a direct train service (using Diesel multiple units) to Lagos with connections to mainline electric trains at Faro. The municipality's close proximity to the main A22 roadway enables easy access west, to other parts of the country, or into

. Despite the opening of the Guadiana International Bridge in 1991, the small car ferry across the river still operates.

Culture

Several artists were born and/or worked in Vila Real de Santo António, providing a rich heritage in literature and visual arts. The native poet António Aleixo was particularly prominent.

Xylographer Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with Chisel#Gouge, gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts ...

Manuel Cabanas stood out in the city's artistic panorama and was a fierce opponent of the Portuguese dictatorship.

Sport

The Vila Real ''Complexo Desportivo'' is a centre for national- and international-level high-performance training camps, with several sporting clubs using it for athletic preparation. Located near the town of Monte Gordo, it is situated near other sporting facilities and lodgings.

Notable people

* Lutegarda Guimarães de Caires (1858–1935), a Portuguese women's rights activist and poet * António Fernandes Constantino Aleixo (1899–1949), a poet * Domiciano Cavém (1932–2005), a footballer with 279 caps with Benfica * Manuel José (born 1946), a Portuguese football manager * Mário Centeno (born 1966), a former Minister of Finance, former president of the

Eurogroup The Eurogroup is the recognised collective term for the informal meetings of the finance ministers of the eurozone—those member states of the European Union (EU) which have adopted the euro as their official currency. The group has 20 members ...

, and current Governor of the

Bank of Portugal The Banco de Portugal (, ) is the national central bank for Portugal within the Eurosystem. It was the Portuguese central bank from 1846 to 1998, issuing the escudo. Since 2014, it has also been Portugal's national competent authority within E ...

. * Amaro Antunes (born 1990), a professional cyclist that has won the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Tour of Portugal

References

External links

Official municipal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vila Real de Santo Antonio Cities in Portugal Populated places in Faro District Municipalities of Faro District Towns of the Algarve Port cities and towns in Portugal Portugal–Spain border crossings