The edifice
Architecture

The edifice
Presentation

By the middle of the 19th century he was deeply involved in the development of the cork industry in the Algarve, primarily in Silves and S. Brás de Alportel. Miguel Dias de Andrade contributed as few others to the development of this industry, but he also knew to benefit from the immense wealth that his business generated.

By the beginning of the 20th century the cork industry had prospered so much that S. Brás de Alportel, which was the main rural parish in Portugal, was transformed into one of the biggest cork centres of the world, with about 60 plants processing cork. This surge of progress completely changed the parish, which became a county in 1914. Many of the newly wealthy families inculcated in their children a passion for letters and art, others acquired properties or built luxurious homes which were more appropriate for people accustomed to wealth and luxury than for these rough working men.

     

The year 1889 is printed on the roofing tiles that cover the building, showing their year of production, which suggests an approximate date for the completion of the new building. This would have been the time of the move from the small village of Campina to the magnificent habitation that had been constructed.

During the first decades of the 20th century the lack of good communications and a shortage of skilled labour brought about the collapse of the once prosperous cork industry. This was accompanied by the emigration of leading industrialists for more favourable regions, such as Montijo, Alhos Vedros, Ermidas, etc, where they built new plants. In 1923, one of the descendants of the old carter, Manuel Dias Sancho, converted the building into a Bank, but it did not do well. The times were difficult and emigration to Argentina and North Africa ended up suffocating the young county of S. Brás de Alportel, which by the 1950s had lost half of its population.

The years passed and Lucília Dias Sancho, granddaughter of the old coal dealer, moved into the house with her husband, António Bentes. In 1986, when António Bentes, by then a widower, died, his will expressed the last wish of his late wife: the building was to go to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia (Holy House of Mercy) of S. Brás de Alportel.


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