São Domingos de Rana is a civil parish of the Portuguese municipality of Cascais, part of the Greater Lisbon subregion. The population in 2011 was 57,502, in an area of 20.36 km2. The parish includes the localities Abóboda, Cabeço de Mouro, Caparide, Matarraque, Outeiro de Polima, Polima, Rana, Talaíde, Tires, Trajouce and Zambujal.

History

The settlement of São Domingos de Rana, is associated with the fertility of the soils and the abundance of spring-waters: the number of archaeological vestiges in the parish implies its place in the settlement of the municipality. In many localities of the parish, human occupation has been almost permanent since the Paleolithic. The archaeological graves in the region attest to agricultural and hunting cultures. This parishes origins date to the settlement of the territory during the Paleolithic to Medieval. The first historical references originated in the Middle Age, one attesting to the existence of locality of Trajouce and the other that mentioned (in 1385) the casal in Freira. The first census referred, in 1527, referred to all the current localities in the parish. At that time, there was already a parish of São Domingos de Rana, that extended to Albarraque, expanding in 1758 to São Pedro do Estoril. Until 1838, the area was part of the municipality of Oeiras, before integrated into Cascais. For four decades the territory was exclusively agricultural, cultivating wheat, corn and vegetables, in addition to vineyards. Also, the region was known for the extraction of stone used in the construction. In 1983, professor José d’Encarnação described São Domingos de Rana as an area known of cereal harvests, but was slowly threatened by the growth of the city, and the industrial production of Abóboda. With its accelerated growth, and lack of planning, resulted in the growth of illegal barrios. On 3 March 1976, the Ministérios da Habitação, Urbanismo e Construção and Ministério dos Assuntos Sociais created an interministerial group (the Comissão para o Alojamento de Refugiados - CAR) in order to coordinate and develop solutions for the housing ex-colonial Africans and refugees, then living in emergency housing in Lisbon or along the Algarve. The development of the CAR neighbourhood of Faceiras, in three phases, began on 18 August 1977 with the construction of 81 homes. The following year (resolution 99/78) this program was integrated with other projects by the commission and the Fundo de Fomento da Habitação (FFH) (Housing Development Fund) to sustain the program (17 June 1978).

Geography

With 20 km2, São Domingos de Rana is one of the four parishes in the municipality of Cascais. In 1970 its resident population included 18,140 inhabitants, expanding to 29,342 (in 1981), 35,938 (in 1991) and 43,991 (in 2001): the 2011, included a population of 57,502 inhabitants. The protected Costa do Sol-Guincho area is situated along the southern margin at the mouth of the Tagus River, east of Lisbon, with the Serra de Sintra to the northwest and Linha de Sintra to the north: it includes the municipalities of Cascais and Oeiras. It partially includes a portion of the Sintra-Cascais Nature Park (Regulatory Decree 8/94, 11 March 1994), and was also included in the Natura 2000 designation for the site of Sintra-Cascais (Council of Ministers Resolution 142/97, 28 August 1997).

Architecture

Civic

Religious

Education

In the locality of Outeiro de Polima is the Saint Dominic's International School.

Sources