The Municipality of São Brás de Alportel is one of two counties of Algarve that do not have coastline or river access. It has 150 km² and ~11.500 inhabitants and is the only county in the Algarve with a single parish.

São Brás de Alportel was elevated to municipality in 1914, till then it was the most populous rural parish in the municipality of Faro.

Being a rural county, well known for its olive groves and subsequently its olive oil, indespensável fuel in a not too distant past, the entire economy was based on the county agriculas riches beyond olive oil as cork and dried fruit.

The Romans and the Muslims were here and left their mark. In economic terms, to the ancient civilizations, the huge amounts of olive oil produced here were essential to those civilizations itself. Do not forget, olive oil was the fuel of antiquity.

Throughout the council we can find Roman roads and monuments from various eras and the architecture is still traditional.

Nowadays, the economy of São Brás is practically nil. The landscape is sprinkled with villas and is undoubtedly a residential county for many employees of the neighboring counties, especially Faro and Loulé.

The cultural heritage of São Brás de Alportel and the fact that is not a tourist destination, makes the local gastronomy to have a positive remark for not being influenced by external factors.