A Praia da Rocha tem pouco mais de um século de existência no que toca à sua ocupação com vista à utilização dos banhos marítimos. Durante este tempo, a localidade transformou-se radicalmente passando de um pequeno povoado à beira-mar com meia dúzia de casas a um grande centro urbano que, durante o verão, atrai milhares de turistas. Este crescimento urbano desmedido, registado sobretudo nas últimas décadas do século XX, mostra-se muito semelhante ao que ocorreu na maioria dos núcleos costeiros do Algarve Central. O caso da Praia da Rocha, porém, revela-se paradigmático, uma vez que no arranque da expansão turística, no princípio dos anos 70, se procedeu à alimentação artificial da praia, com vista ao alargamento do areal para aumentar a sua capacidade de utilização balnear e para evitar que as vagas atingindo as falésias pusessem em risco as construções edificadas ali na última década. O sucesso das operações de enchimento (1970, 1983 e 1996) fazem da Praia da Rocha um caso único no país e um magnífico exemplo de antropicosta. O êxito alcançado na ampliação do areal na Rocha teve, contudo, um lado perverso no que toca à ocupação humana daquele litoral: possibilitou a expansão do turismo de massas, ao criar uma praia com maior capacidade de carga e ao permitir - graças à subtracção da arriba aos processos marinhos - um crescimento da volumetria das construções, dando origem, a partir dos anos 80, ao aparecimento de uma frente contínua de edificações de grandes dimensões adjacentes à costa. Neste trabalho traça-se o perfil histórico desta praia, acompanhando a sua evolução urbana com base na comparação de material iconográfico, fotografias áereas e cartas, tentando perceber de que forma as actividades antrópicas ali desenvolvidas (essencialmente balneares) determinaram a sua configuração actual. Pretende-se ainda mostrar como a nível da gestão costeira é essencial compreender a evolução diacrónica das zonas costeiras para se ter uma correcta percepção de risco, já que algumas praias aparentemente estabilizadas podem oferecer uma falsa sensação de segurança. Grande parte das populações que ocupam hoje o litoral não possuem - pelo seu desenraizamento face áquele espaço - a noção da sua instabilidade. Mas, os técnicos e autoridades com responsabilidade na gestão da orla litoral não podem ignorar a história e memória da erosão costeira, sob pena de num futuro recente enfrentarem graves problemas em consequência do seu alheamento face à intensificação da ocupação humana de zonas de risco e da não aplicação de medidas de adaptação.

Praia da Rocha was the first beach resort of the Algarve. For a little more than a century, it has been a tourist destination because of its beaches. During this time, the location changed radically from a small village by the sea with a handful of houses to a large urban centre that attracts thousands of tourists in the summer. During this transformation, small chalets on the top of the cliffs were replaced by apartment buildings and hotels, and family guesthouses gave rise to major hotel chains. Small business commerce and entertainment - being the most important the casino -, have grown to provide restaurants, cafes, bars, nightclubs, shops, and a new gambling site. This excessive urban growth, which occurred mainly during the last decades of the twentieth century, is very similar to what occurred in most coastal settlements in the Central Algarve. The case of Praia da Rocha, however, is paradigmatic. Since the start of the tourist boom, in the early 70s, major interventions took place. The beach was artificially enlarged in order to increase its use and sun bathing capacity. This change also prevents waves from hitting the cliffs that could endanger the buildings built there in the last decade. Rocha was never an extensive beach. Its width depended on sedimentary exchange with the submerged delta banks of the Arade River. The construction of a groyne in the western part of the river mouth caused changes in the natural system and contributed to sand loss on the beach. This situation was inverted after the completion of the groyne, which favoured sand accumulation. However, Praia da Rocha could never become a big beach naturally, because in this region the amount of sand available from coastal drift is relatively low. Prior to the 60s, the Rocha was only attended by a few dozen sunbathers who concentrated in two or three specific points of the beach. A problem arose in the late 60s with a strong rise in demand for usable space. The solution was the construction of an artificial coastal system by dredging materials from the port. The successful filling operations (1970, 1983 and 1996) make Praia da Rocha a unique case in the country and a magnificent example of coastal anthropization. The beach profiles measured in 1988 indicated that over 80% of the deposited material was still there. This success is due to: low littoral drift transport, very moderate wave agitation compared with Portuguese west coast, and the beach being an almost closed system (thanks to the tip of Três Castelos and to the port West groyne). On the contrary, on the adjacent West coast, between Três Castelos and Vau, where the operations of 1983 and 1996 took place, there was a rapid and significant loss (about 60% in 1988) of the deposited material because these beaches are not closed systems. The success achieved in expanding this beach has had, nevertheless, a downside when it comes to human coast occupation. In fact, the creation of a beach with a greater load capacity and the protection of the cliffs against maritime erosion allowed the expansion of mass tourism and the increase of building construction. So in the 80s, a continuous front of large buildings emerged adjacent to the coast. The singularity of Praia da Rocha, which was once described as the most beautiful beach of the Algarve, was sacrificed in the name of perpetuation of established interests. Of the thousands of tourists who visit it, only a few know that they are facing a landscape fully transformed and built specifically for them. In addition, the peculiar rocks, shoals, islets, pinnacles and arches, which gave name and fame to the beach, have been mostly destroyed or covered by sand.This case-study, based on the analysis of the region’s historical evolution and how the use of this area has impacted the environment, illustrates very clearly the relationship established over the centuries between human societies and the seashore. Man’s capacity and desire to artificially transform landscapes, and the response of the natural system, creates new realities. These new realities lead to new solutions and to an endless cycle of action-reaction which is impossible to ignore. This article also demonstrates to coastal management the importance of understanding the diachronic evolution of coastal areas to have a better risk perception, since some apparently stabilized beaches may offer a false sense of security. The majority of the population, who nowadays live on the coastline, do not have notion of its instability. However, coastal zones management (technicians and authorities) cannot ignore the history of coastal erosion. Not learning from past events may lead to incorrect adaptation measures in the future. This is especially true in areas that are not currently at risk, but have been in the past due to human intervention.