The building original function, with its typical architecture of Moorish inspiration, was of military quarters for the troops stationed on the new border village. Time changes and the space was converted into a market for fruit and vegetables, restless centre of the city’s daily life.

A new space was built during the 1980’s, and the one located on the Teófilo Braga street, nowadays the commercial main area, was once again free to reinvent itself for cultural purposes. The António Aleixo Cultural Centre was inaugurated in 1998 and named after the popular poet António Aleixo who was born in Vila Real de Santo António in 1899 and died in Loulé in 1949.

Today, the space is the centre of the city’s cultural life and the scene of countless exhibitions, shows and other events.