In these lectures I will first recall the basic notions and results that are needed to study minimal surfaces in the smooth setting (above all the area formula and the first variation of the area), give a short review of the main (classical) techniques for existence results, and then outline the theory of Finite Perimeter Sets, including the main results of the theory (compactness, structure of distributional derivative, rectifiability). If time allows, I will conclude with a few applications.