Vila Real de Santo António is a town by the sea and by the river. Located in the southeast extreme of the Algarve, its geographical location has always been regarded as strategic in the defence of the territory.
The urban design drawn up in Lisbon by the Casa de Risco was characteristic of the Enlightenment period and recommended an urban organization based on values such as planimetry, altimetry and volumetry, which explains the geometric outline of the streets of Vila Real. It was elevated to the status of city in 1986.