 Since 9 December 2004, the Costa de Caparica has been designated as city within the urban hierarchy of Portugal.The toponymy "Caparica" developed from a legend about an old woman who lived between Almada and the ocean, over cliffs of Sul do Tejo.The old woman, thin and frail, wore a multi-coloured patchwork cape to protect herself from the cold, and who pandered to the local people of the small hamlet in which she lived.