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 within the Lisbon metropolitan area, about from Lisbon downtown by road.

In the times of Al-Andalus, the city was known as Shaṭūbar (Andalusian Arabic: ), after the old pre-Roman name of Caetobriga. In the 17th century, the port was called Saint Ubes in English, and Saint-Yves in French.

The municipal holiday is 15 September, which marks the date in 1765 when Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage was born at three o'clock in the afternoon. However, by that time Setúbal was a village, since only in April 1860 King Pedro V of Portugal officially recognised Setúbal as a city.

Geography

thumb|left|Setúbal bay area

The city of Setúbal is located on the northern bank of the Sado River estuary, approximately south of Portugal's capital, Lisbon. It is also the seat of the Setúbal District and formerly in the historic Estremadura Province.

In the beginning of the 20th century, Setúbal was the most important center of Portugal's fishing industry, particularly specializing in processing and exporting sardines. None of the many factories then created are operating today. However, the existing maritime ports, either traditional, commercial and the new marines, keep the city's links to the ocean and water well alive and vibrant. Tourism, based on the beautiful natural conditions plus excellent hotels, resorts and infrastructures, is one of the city's most appreciated resources, due to its interconnection with the Sado River on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on another, having a coast line with both. The city is also connected with the nearby coast of the Arrábida hills natural park - which offers an unspoiled nature and beautiful beaches to the Atlantic Ocean. A dolphin colony inhabits the Sado River. Across the river on the south bank lies the peninsula of Tróia, a place with vast white/golden sand beaches where several luxury hotels and resorts were recently built. The Tróia peninsula can be sighted from the city, across the river. Albarquel, Figueirinha, Galápos, Galapinhos, Creiro and Portinho da Arrábida are some of the city's many beaches, located in the north bank of the estuary, at the very beginning of the Arrábida hills.

Civil parishes

thumb|The civil parishes of Setúbal after the 2013 administrative reorganization

Administratively, the municipality is divided into five civil parishes (freguesias):

  • Azeitão (São Lourenço e São Simão)
  • Gâmbia – Pontes – Alto da Guerra
  • São Julião, Nossa Senhora da Anunciada e Santa Maria da Graça
  • São Sebastião

History

In antiquity the city was known as Cetobriga, a Turdetani settlement that came under Roman control in the province of Lusitania.

Culture

thumb|Castelo de São Filipe

The main historical monument of the city of Setúbal is the Monastery of Jesus, which is a 15th- and 16th-century church that represents one of the first buildings in the Portuguese late Gothic style known as Manueline.

It was in this building where the first treaty that divided the world between two powers was signed by King John II, nicknamed the perfect prince.

The Roman Catholic Church has a diocese, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Setúbal, headquartered in the city, with its see (seat of the bishop) at the Our Lady of Grace Cathedral, Setúbal, famous for its Mannerist façade.

Also of interest are the São Julião Church, also with Manueline portals. The Castelo de São Filipe, is a 16th- and 17th-century fortress on the north bank of the Sado river, overseeing the city. The fortress was converted into a luxury hotel (pousada).

The fortress ordered to be built by King Sebastian is wrongly attributed to King Philip I. Filippo Terzi had been hired in 1575 by Sebastian precisely to protect and reinforce the Portuguese coast against piracy that was ravaging the entire Mediterranean and Atlantic.

Teatro Animação de Setúbal is based in Setúbal.

Demography (municipality)

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Climate

Setúbal has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. Temperatures in the winter vary between during the day and at night, most of the precipitation (starting from November) falls in this season. Temperatures in the summer vary between during the day and at night, precipitation is scarce during this season. The average annual temperature varies between .

On 4 August 2018, Setúbal registered a record high temperature of which, according to weather records expert Maximiliano Herrera, was the highest temperature ever recorded on the coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Economy

<!-- Deleted image removed: thumb|Lisnave shipyard. -->

According to the census of 2011, the municipality of Setúbal had a labor force of 58,514 people, among whom 15.6% were unemployed. Among those who had a job, 1.6% were working in the Primary sector, 24.9% in the Secondary sector and 73.5% in the Tertiary sector. Setúbal is notable for the industries of pulp, paper, cement, fertilizers, pesticides, other phytopharmaceutical products, thermal power, shipbuilding and ship repair. There has been an automobile assembling industry since the 1950s with several known manufacturers opening assembly halls for the Portuguese market. Today there are only 3 tradenames nearby currently in production. The Port of Setúbal had a cargo throughput of 6.058 million tons in 2012, making it the 4th busiest port in Portugal, with 7.4% of the cargo throughput in the country.

In the 19th century, the area was notable for the production of sea salt. St. Ubes bay salt was exported as far as Australia in the 1830s.

Education

  • Escola Superior de Ciências Empresariais

Transportation

Setúbal has one train station, Setúbal station, with CP suburban trains every half an hour to Barreiro or Praias Sado - A, and Fertagus suburban service to Lisbon Roma-Areeiro. There are also two halts with CP service, Praça do Quebedo and Praias Sado - A, which exceptionally aren't served by the last trains of the night. There are also two stations used for the transport of goods, Setúbal-Mar and Praias do Sado, the latter having its passenger service suspended in 2009

In the past, in the municipality, there were also the halts of Cachofarra, Mouriscas-Sado and Algeruz, serving the villages with the same name. These halts were used by regional trains going to Faro or Beja

Bus services have been secured since June 1, 2022 by Alsa Todi under Carris Metropolitana. Setúbal is part of the 4th area and the 4th sub-area, meaning its urban buses begin in 44. The main bus terminal is the ITS (Interface de Transportes de Setúbal), located next to the Setúbal railway station, substituting the old terminal at Av. Dr. Manuel de Arriaga. FlixBus, Rede Nacional de Expressos and BlaBlaCar Bus, the latter still stopping at the old terminal

In terms of road infrastructure, Setúbal is served by highway A12, to Lisbon and national roads N10, N10-4 and N10-8

Sports

The city's main sports club is Vitória de Setúbal, the football club established on 20 November 1910.

thumb|[[Estádio do Bonfim]]

Notable residents and citizens

Public Service

thumb|Statue of Setúbal poet [[Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage in a city square.]]

  • Diogo Fernandes Pereira (ca.15C-ca.16C) a 16th-century navigator; in 1503 the first European captain to visit the island of Socotra and discovered the Mascarenes archipelago (Réunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues) in 1507
  • José Travassos Valdez, 1st Count of Bonfim (1787–1862) soldier, politician, Prime Minister of Portugal, 1839 to 1841
  • Rui Machete (born 1940) a Portuguese politician and Govt. minister

Religion

  • Dom Américo Aguiar is a Cardinal-elector of the Roman Catholic Church, and bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Setúbal, who is resident at the Our Lady of Grace Cathedral, Setúbal

The Arts

140px|thumb|Luísa Todi, 1789

  • Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage (1765–1805), notable satirical and classical poet.
  • Luisa Todi (1753–1833), a Portuguese mezzo-soprano opera singer
  • João Vaz (1859–1931), a painter and decorator who specialized in maritime subjects.
  • Roy Campbell (1901–1957), a South African poet, died nearby in a car accident.
  • Sebastião da Gama (1924–1952), a Portuguese poet, he wrote about the Arrábida Natural Park
  • Lima de Freitas (1927–1998), Portuguese painter, illustrator, ceramicist and writer.
  • Zeca Afonso (1929–1987), singer and songwriter, lived, worked and died in the city
  • Manuela Couto (born 1964), a Portuguese actress on TV, cinema and theatre.
  • Luís Buchinho (born 1969), a Portuguese fashion designer.
  • Roman Konoplev (born 1973), a Russian and Transnistrian writer and publicist.
  • Mazgani (born 1974), an Iranian-Portuguese singer-songwriter.
  • Sofia Vitória (born 1979), singer of Jazz & World Music
  • Sabrina (born 1982), represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
  • Cátia Mazari Oliveira (born 1983), better known by her artistic name A Garota Não, a Portuguese singer-songwriter.
  • André Marques (born 1984), writer and director.
  • Filipa Barroso, (Wiki PT) (born 1998), model and Miss Portuguesa 2017
  • Matilde Lima, (Wiki PT) (born 1999), model and Miss Universo Portugal 2017

Sport

140px|thumb|José Mourinho, 2017

  • Francisco Santos (footballer) (1904 - ?)
  • Oceana Zarco (1911–2008), first Portuguese female professional cyclist, in 1925
  • Jaime Graça (1942–2012), a footballer and coach with 303 club caps and 36 for Portugal
  • Silvino Louro (born 1959), a former footballer with 408 club caps and 23 for Portugal
  • José Mourinho (born 1963), distinguished football manager, head coach of Benfica.
  • Fernando Mendes (born 1966), a former footballer with 350 club caps and 11 for Portugal
  • Bruno Ribeiro (born 1975), a football manager and former player with 305 club caps
  • Bruno Lage (born 1976), a football manager.
  • Susana Costa (born 1984), a Portuguese athlete specialising in the triple jump
  • Marco Soares (born 1984), a footballer with over 420 club caps and 52 for Cape Verde
  • José Semedo (born 1985), a former footballer with 466 club caps and 11 for Portugal U-21

International relations

Setúbal is twinned with:

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  • Leiria, Portugal, since May 1982
  • Beauvais, France, since June 1982
  • Pau, France, since September 1991
  • Tordesillas, Spain, since September 1994

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  • Porto Seguro, Brazil, since March 2000
  • Quelimane, Mozambique, since July 2000
  • Debrecen, Hungary, since November 2000
  • Safi, Morocco, since April 2001

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Setúbal has international cooperation protocols with:

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  • Tarrafal, Cape Verde, since July 2002
  • Bobigny, France, since October 2003

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<gallery mode="packed">

File:Castillo de San Felipe, Setúbal, Portugal, 2020-07-19, DD 02.jpg|16th-century Fort of St. Filipe.

File:Iglesia de San Julián, Setúbal, Portugal, 2021-09-09, DD 59-61 HDR.jpg|São Julião Church in central Setúbal.

File:Convento de Jesús, Setúbal, Portugal, 2021-09-08, DD 18.jpg|Monastery of Jesus of Setúbal (15th and 16th centuries).

File:Jesus Convent 5.JPG|Cruzeiro (a Stone cross) and façade of the Monastery of Jesus of Setúbal.

File:Iglesia del convento de Jesús, Setúbal, Portugal, 2021-09-08, DD 19.jpg|Main entrance to the Gothic-Manueline Monastery of Jesus of Setúbal.

File:Porto de Setubal I.jpg|A view of Setúbal's seaport.

File:Jardim Bonfim Setubal 2.JPG|Jardim Bonfim park.

File:Setubal 20070727.jpg|Largo da Misericórdia.

File:Manesson-Travaux-de-Mars 9685.tif|Fortifications of Setúbal. Manesson Mallet: Travaux de Mars ou l'Art de la Guerre.

</gallery>

References

Bibliography

  • Municipality official website