Cascais

History

Human settlement of the territory today known as Cascais dates to the late Paleolithic, as indicated by remnants encountered in the north of Talaíde, in Alto do Cabecinho (Tires) and south of Moinhos do Cabreiro. It was during the Neolithic that permanent settlements were established in the region, their inhabitants utilizing the natural grottoes (such as the Caves of Poço Velho in Cascais) and artificial shelters (like those in Alapraia or São Pedro) to deposit their dead. The bodies were buried along with offerings, a practice that continued to the Chalcolithic.

Roman interventions in the area occurred with the settlement of the villae of Freiria (today São Domingos de Rana) and Casais Velhos (Charneca), evidence for which includes a group of ten tanks discovered along the Rua Marques Leal Pancada in Cascais, which was the location of a salting factory for fish. Roman dominion over the territory also influenced place names in the region, as was the case with the word "Caparide" (from the Latin capparis, meaning "caper"), as well as several inscriptions associated with funerary graves.

The Visigoths also left their mark especially on the Visigothic Cemetery of Alcoitão, as well as in the late-Roman and medieval necropolis of Talaíde.

Similarly, Muslim settlers in the region left their mark on local place names, including "Alcoitão" and "Alcabideche", where the romantic poet Ibn Muqana al-Qabdaqi, who wrote of the region's agriculture and windmills, was born at the beginning of the 11th century. The discovery of several corpses in 1987 at Arneiro, in Carcavelos, led to the identification of fifteen burials that, due to their characteristics, made it possible to verify that the individuals buried there were of Berber origin.

The development of Cascais began in earnest in the 12th century, when it was administratively subordinate to the town of Sintra, located to the north. In its humble beginnings, Cascais depended on the products of the sea and land, but by the 13th century its fish production was also supplying the nearby city of Lisbon. The toponym "Cascais" appears to derive from this period, a plural derivation of cascal (monte de cascas) which signified a "mountain of shells", referring to the abundant volume of marine mollusks harvested from the coastal waters. During the 14th century, the population spread outside the walls of its fortress castle.

Geography

Cascais is situated on the western edge of the Tagus estuary, between the Sintra mountains and the Atlantic Ocean; the territory occupied by the municipality is limited in the north by the municipality of Sintra, south and west by the ocean, and east by the municipality of Oeiras.

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias), with municipal authority vested in the Câmara Municipal of Cascais:

Alcabideche

Carcavelos e Parede

Cascais e Estoril

São Domingos de Rana

Cascais' coastline is home to 17 beaches. These are:

Guincho Beach and Carcavelos Beach are especially well known as good surf spots. Close to Praia do Guincho is the Cresmina Dune, which is an unstable dune system due to the constant drifting of sand particles caused by strong winds.

Climate

Cascais has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb, Trewartha: Csbl), with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers. Moderated by the Atlantic and the typical urban heat island of a city, temperatures in Cascais rarely get below 5 °C (41 °F) or above 30 °C (86 °F).

Economy

Cascais is easily reached from Lisbon by car on the A5 Lisbon-Cascais highway, or alternatively on the scenic "marginal" road, as well as by frequent inexpensive commuter trains. Taxis are also a common and inexpensive mode of transport in the area. The city has the ruins of a castle, an art museum and an ocean museum, as well as parks and the cobbled streets of the historic centre. The town has many hotels and tourist apartments as well as many good restaurants of varying cost. It is a fine base to use for those visiting Lisbon and its environs who prefer to stay outside of the city.

Cascais ranks ninth in population density and sixth in percentage of population employed among Portuguese municipalities.

Cascais is surrounded by popular beaches. Guincho Beach to the northwest is primarily a surfing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing beach because of the prevailing winds and sea swells, while the calm waters of the beaches to the east attract sunbathers. The lush Sintra mountains to the north are a further attraction. The shoreline to the west has cliffs, attracting tourists who come for the panoramic views of the sea and other natural sights such as the Boca do Inferno. It is also becoming a popular golf destination, with over 10 golf courses nearby.

A large marina with 650 berths was opened in 1999 and has since held many sailing events. It was the official host of the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships for dinghies and racing yachts. The municipality also hosts international tennis and motorcycling events and for many years hosted the FIA F1 Portugal Grand Prix at the Estoril race track. The Estoril Casino is one of the largest in Europe. Near the casino is the "Hotel Palácio" (Palace Hotel), where scenes of the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service were shot.

In 2017, the municipality started charging a small tourist tax, as the city had become one of the most visited destinations in Portugal. It is estimated that around 1.2 million tourists stay in the city's hotels each year (2016).

The Cascais Aerodrome in Tires (São Domingos de Rana) serves general aviation and also offers domestic scheduled flights by Aero VIP.

Education

Culture

The Gil Vicente theatre dates back to 1869. In its early years it was frequently attended by Portugal's royal family. The Cascais Experimental Theatre was established in 1965 and has presented more than a hundred shows since then. Over the years Cascais has developed several art galleries and museums. These are concentrated in a relatively small area of the town, mainly in parkland. Combined, they are known as The Museum Quarter. Several occupy large buildings that were formerly private residences and were subsequently taken over and restored by the Municipality. Entrance is either free or for a small fee (usually not more than €4). The galleries and museums are:

Art galleries

Casa das Histórias Paula Rego. This is a relatively modern museum devoted to the paintings of Paula Rego and her husband Victor Willing.

Cascais Cultural Centre. Located on the site of the former convent of Our Lady of Mercy, this colourful building houses rotating exhibitions and also has a small concert hall.

Casa Duarte Pinto Coelho. The former guardhouse of the Condes de Castro Guimarães Palace, this building houses the Duarte Pinto Coelho art collection.

Cidadela Arts Centre. This occupies a small part of the Citadel of Cascais and offers space for artists to display and sell their work.

Museums

The Cascais Citadel Palace Museum is situated inside the grounds of the Citadel. It was used as the summer residence of the royal family from 1870 until 1908, and was subsequently used as one of the official residences of Portuguese presidents. After extensive restoration it was opened as a museum in 2011, with an emphasis on the role of Portuguese presidents.

Condes de Castro Guimarães Museum. This was built as an aristocrat's summer residence and became a museum in 1931. The building follows an eclectic architectural style, while the museum includes paintings, furniture, porcelain, jewellery and a neo-Gothic organ.

International relations

Cascais is twinned with:

Notable residents

Joaquim António Velez Barreiros (1802–1865). As the Visconde da Luz, is celebrated in Cascais with two streets and a park named after him

José de Freitas Ribeiro (1868–1929) Portuguese Navy officer, Governor-General of Mozambique, 1910-1911 and Governor-General of Portuguese India, 1917-1919

Ricardo Espírito Santo (1900-1955) a banker, economist, patron of the arts, international athlete & friend of António de Oliveira Salazar and President of Banco Espírito Santo

António da Mota Veiga (1915–2005) a politician and former Minister and law professor

Nadir Afonso (1920 - 2013 in Cascais), a geometric abstractionist painter, notable for his City Series artwork

John Tojeiro (1923–2005) known at Toj, an engineer and racing car designer

Francisco Pinto Balsemão (born 1937) a former Prime Minister of Portugal, 1981-1983

José Luis Encarnação (born 1941) a computer scientist and senior academic in Germany

Pedro Cardoso (born 1962), Brazilian actor, writer and comedian

Manuela Carneiro da Cunha (born 1943) a Portuguese-Brazilian anthropologist, studies indigenous people in Brazil.

Ricardo Salgado (born 1944) an economist and banker, president of Banco Espírito Santo

Julião Sarmento (1948–2021) a multimedia artist and painter; lived and worked in Estoril

Sport

Nuno Durão (born 1962) a Portuguese rugby union footballer and coach with 44 caps for Portugal

Fernando Gonçalves (born 1967) a former footballer with 43 goals

Paulo Ferreira (born 1979) a former footballer with 306 club caps and 62 for Portugal

Duarte Félix da Costa (born 1985) racing car driver

António Félix da Costa (born 1991) racing car driver a former Red Bull test driver and the 2020 Formula E Champion

Camilla Kemp (born 1996) is an Olympic surfer who competed for Germany

Fernando Varela (born 1987) a footballer with over 350 club caps and 49 for Cape Verde

Frederico Morais (born 1992) a surfer in the World Surf League

Teresa Bonvalot (born 1999) a surfer in the World Surf League the 2016 and 2017 European Junior Champion and 2021-22 WSL Qualifying Series European Champion

Royalty

King Luís I of Portugal (1838 – 1889 in Cascais) a member of the ruling House of Braganza and King of Portugal from 1861 to 1889.

King Carol II of Romania (1893–1953) and Miklós Horthy (1868–1957), Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, both lived and died in Estoril, in Cascais.

Edward, Duke of Windsor (1894–1972) formerly Edward VIII during his brief reign as British King and his wife Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (1896–1986), stayed in Cascais in July 1940 waiting for a ship to the Bahamas.

King Umberto II of Italy (1904–1983) the last Italian monarch until a referendum ended the Italian monarchy in 1946. He lived the rest of his life at Cascais.

Prince Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona (1913–1993), (son of the King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg), the designated heir to the Spanish throne, also lived in the municipality of Cascais with his family. Prince Juan's son, future King Juan Carlos I of Spain (born 1938) lived his childhood in exile in Estoril, while his youngest brother Prince Alfonso of Bourbon (1941–1956) died there and was originally buried in Cascais.

Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia (1936–2008) holder of the Dukedom of Medina Sidonia in Spain.

Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria (born 1937), arrived in the municipality, with his mother Tsarina Giovanna of Italy (1907-2000) who died in Estoril. He returned from exile to be elected Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005.

Prince Charles Philippe, Duke of Anjou (born 1973) descendant of the last King of France has lived in Cascais since 2008.