Geography
The civil parish of Porto Covo has 48.73 km2 (18.81 sq mi) of area, and today includes 1400 inhabitants (based on 2008 census). A coastal parish, it is located about 13 km (8.1 mi) south of the municipal seat Sines, but comprises an interior catchment that extends seven kilometres into the interior. While it is fronted to its north by the civil parish of Sines, it is surrounded to the west by the civil parish of Cercal (in the municipality of Santiago do Cacém) and south by the civil parish of Vila Nova de Milfontes (in the municipality of Odemira).
Its northern frontier extends from the beach of Vieirinha into the interior, until reaching the IC4 motorway (each of Brejos do Morgave) and extending south to the village of Sonega. Its eastern border with Cercal meanders along the foothills until southeast of Herdade da Cabeça da Cabra, before the border joins that of the civil parish of Vila de Milfontes meandering west (following the Ribeira da Azenha) reaching the coast 1.5 kilometres south of the island of Pessegueiro. The space includes, apart from the town of Porto Covo, several other localities, including: Barradinha, Brejos do Morgave, Caeiro, Cabeça da Cabra, Camarneira, Casa Nova, Fonte do Muro, Fonte Nova, Foros da Pouca Farinha, Herdade de Cabeça da Cabra, Monte das Pias and Vale Travesso. The area is part of the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park consisting of protected landscapes and habitats for migratory and endemic species.
The original projects for the community never materialized in the plans of Henrique Guilherme de Oliveira. Rather than a seaside settlement, the architect laid-down the settlement further to the interior, mindful of the farmers distance from their lands. The square, although simple, developed from the original plans of the Pombaline-era architects that favoured a visible square grid and squares, the repetition in the facades, the volume and rhythm of the groups of buildings (including the placement of the structures, such as the church).
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