Ponta Delgada (Santa Cruz das Flores)
Encyclopedia
Ponta Delgada is a rural civil parish in the Azorean
municipality of Santa Cruz das Flores
, on the island of Flores. The population in 2001 was 453 inhabitants, occuping an area 18.72 km², along the northern coast from the regional capital. It is the third oldest religious parish on the island of Flores, only preceded by the communities of Lajes
and Santa Cruz das Flores.
, stated that at the end of the 16th Century Ponta Delgada was a small population of thirty neighbors and one chapel. A century later, Friar
Agostinho de Montalverne referred to 650 inhabitants occupying 140 homes: essentially claiming it was the largest population on the island.
Diogo das Chagas
first placed the colonization of this area at about 1571, attaining the position of parish immediately. It included the area from Ribeira Funda until Ribeira das Casas, as well as Ponta Ruiva (now in Cedros
and Ponta da Fajã (now part of Fajã Grande
in the neighbouring municipality
). Father António Cordeiro
referred to a community of 150 homes and several roads leading to the ocean. The fertility of the land and access to potable water greatly assisted this growth.
As Frutuoso noted, a primitive parish chapel was erected to the invocation of Santa Ana
, but had long since "disappeared". The church of São Pedro was erected in 1763 near a small chapel, with the same name, at the end of the 17th Century. In addition to São Pedro, the chapel of Santo Amaro
(which co-existed in the parish, since the end of the 17th Century) was the centre of popular festivals and testified to the community's dynamic nature: São Pedro, the protector of fishermen and Santo Amaro, protector of animals. The chapel of Santo Amaro was located near the old centre of the village near a grotto and spring. But, over time, the inhabitants decided to move the town centre away from the exposure to local northern wind currents. The principal promoter of a project to re-build the Church of São Pedro was Father Francisco de Fraga e Almeida, a man of immense wealth and former-Vicar
of Flores and Corvo Island
s. His final testament bequeathed 100$000 réis
to the Confraria de São Pedro () to celebrate a mass in his name on the day of the inauguration of the new temple. It is not clear when that finally occurred, but documents show that in 1774 the builders were still working on the alters of the Church. This church was restored twice more (in 1971 and 1975), both times maintaining the interior and original foundations.
On August 13, 1978 a new chapel was consecrated to the invocation of São João Baptista
on Pico do Meio Dia near the site of a concrete cross that was consecrated on September 27, 1970. This new chapel gave rise to annual festivals celebrated every September.
described the villages place, as follows:
The area today is connected to Santa Cruz das Flores by a coastal road system that also crosses the interior of the island. The first automobile reached the parish in 1966: one of the last places on the island to be reached by road vehicles. Until then, transit to the north was made by horse-drawn carriage, by horse or mule, foot or by boat access from the south (when the weather permitted).
As a consequence of modern emigration to the United States, and recently to the larger centre in Santa Cruz das Flores, the population has been in steady decline; in 1814 forty births were registered in the parish, but by the 1980s between two and six births were recorded.
) and the rest of the archipelago
, as well as to capture lucrative trans-Atlantic maritime tourism.
, centered around the Sunday of Pentecost
are the highlight of the religious calendar.
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
municipality of Santa Cruz das Flores
Santa Cruz das Flores
Santa Cruz das Flores is a municipality in Portugal, located across from the island of Corvo on the island of Flores, in the western part of the autonomous region of Azores. With an area of 70.9 km² its approximately 2,500 inhabitants occupy the northern half of the island...
, on the island of Flores. The population in 2001 was 453 inhabitants, occuping an area 18.72 km², along the northern coast from the regional capital. It is the third oldest religious parish on the island of Flores, only preceded by the communities of Lajes
Lajes das Flores
Lajes das Flores is municipality in the western part of the Azores; it includes the southern portion of the island of Flores and is encircled almost entirely by the Atlantic Ocean except for the north, where it is bordered by Santa Cruz das Flores. It has a population of 1,491 inhabitants and a...
and Santa Cruz das Flores.
History
The religious parish of São Pedro da Ponta Delgada was one of the first three religious parishes on the island of Flores. The historical chronicler, Father Gaspar FrutuosoGaspar Frutuoso
Gaspar Frutuoso was a Portuguese priest, historian and humanist from the island of São Miguel, in the Azores...
, stated that at the end of the 16th Century Ponta Delgada was a small population of thirty neighbors and one chapel. A century later, Friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
Agostinho de Montalverne referred to 650 inhabitants occupying 140 homes: essentially claiming it was the largest population on the island.
Diogo das Chagas
Diogo das Chagas
Diogo das Chagas was a Franciscan monk and Azorean historian, author of Espelho Cristalino, an important resource on the colonization of the islands of the central and western groups of the Portuguese Azores, after 1640.-Biography:He was the son of Mateus Coelho da Costa, Captain-major of the...
first placed the colonization of this area at about 1571, attaining the position of parish immediately. It included the area from Ribeira Funda until Ribeira das Casas, as well as Ponta Ruiva (now in Cedros
Cedros (Santa Cruz das Flores)
Portuguese civil parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz das Flores with 152 inhabitants . It is one of the highest parishes in the Azores, since its principal neighborhood is located in a coastal area of immense cliffs and cut by several river valleys that surround the municipality...
and Ponta da Fajã (now part of Fajã Grande
Fajã Grande
Fajã Grande is a rural civil parish in the municipality of Lajes das Flores in the archipelago of the Azores. In the most recent census reported, the parish had 225 inhabitants in an area of approximately 12.5 km²; its density is 17.9/km²...
in the neighbouring municipality
Lajes das Flores
Lajes das Flores is municipality in the western part of the Azores; it includes the southern portion of the island of Flores and is encircled almost entirely by the Atlantic Ocean except for the north, where it is bordered by Santa Cruz das Flores. It has a population of 1,491 inhabitants and a...
). Father António Cordeiro
António Cordeiro
António Cordeiro was a Catholic priest in the Society of Jesus, Azorean historian, author of the classical chronicle Historia Insulana, and first to publish a public opinion on the form of governance for the archipelago of the Azores.-Biography:António was the sixth and final child of António...
referred to a community of 150 homes and several roads leading to the ocean. The fertility of the land and access to potable water greatly assisted this growth.
As Frutuoso noted, a primitive parish chapel was erected to the invocation of Santa Ana
Saint Anne
Saint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...
, but had long since "disappeared". The church of São Pedro was erected in 1763 near a small chapel, with the same name, at the end of the 17th Century. In addition to São Pedro, the chapel of Santo Amaro
Saint Maurus
Saint Maurus was the first disciple of St. Benedict of Nursia . He is mentioned in St. Gregory the Great's biography of the latter as the first oblate; offered to the monastery by his noble Roman parents as a young boy to be brought up in the monastic life. Four stories involving Maurus recounted...
(which co-existed in the parish, since the end of the 17th Century) was the centre of popular festivals and testified to the community's dynamic nature: São Pedro, the protector of fishermen and Santo Amaro, protector of animals. The chapel of Santo Amaro was located near the old centre of the village near a grotto and spring. But, over time, the inhabitants decided to move the town centre away from the exposure to local northern wind currents. The principal promoter of a project to re-build the Church of São Pedro was Father Francisco de Fraga e Almeida, a man of immense wealth and former-Vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Flores and Corvo Island
Corvo Island
Corvo Island , literally the Island of the Crow, is the smallest and the northernmost island of the Azores archipelago and the northernmost in Macaronesia, with a population of approximately 468 inhabitants constituting the smallest single municipality in Azores and in Portugal.-History:A small...
s. His final testament bequeathed 100$000 réis
Portuguese real
The real was the unit of currency of Portugal from around 1430 until 1911. It replaced the dinheiro at the rate of 1 real = 840 dinheiros and was itself replaced by the escudo at a rate of 1 escudo = 1000 réis...
to the Confraria de São Pedro () to celebrate a mass in his name on the day of the inauguration of the new temple. It is not clear when that finally occurred, but documents show that in 1774 the builders were still working on the alters of the Church. This church was restored twice more (in 1971 and 1975), both times maintaining the interior and original foundations.
On August 13, 1978 a new chapel was consecrated to the invocation of São João Baptista
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
on Pico do Meio Dia near the site of a concrete cross that was consecrated on September 27, 1970. This new chapel gave rise to annual festivals celebrated every September.
Geography
The community is located on the northern coast of Flores Island, on a flat rock-bed that extends into the Atlantic Ocean, across from the island of Corvo (Flores' nearest neighbour). On either coast of the village are two islets, Maria Vaz (on the west coast) and João Martins, both named after important settlers during early colonization. Writing at the beginning of the 19th Century, Father José António CamõesJosé António Camões
Father José António Camões , a Florense , a Catholic priest, poet, historian, and author of various works of satire, including his heroic satire O Testamento de D...
described the villages place, as follows:
- ...passing the Furnal point you travel northeast to the port of Ponta Delgada. There is there, at the foot of the ocean, a sweet water spring that serves a great many of the inhabitants of that parish. There is a port...without fortifications...but with a cliff that is protective. Continuing north-east begins the great bay of Ponta Delgada, falling to this ocean is the Ribeira da Fazenda...and within the parish a port, called Portinho, where only with good humour can you unload your boats. There is a guard house. Outside the small port are two islets, called the islets of Portinho...continuing along the same wind trajectory there is a point called Ponta do Ilhéu.
The area today is connected to Santa Cruz das Flores by a coastal road system that also crosses the interior of the island. The first automobile reached the parish in 1966: one of the last places on the island to be reached by road vehicles. Until then, transit to the north was made by horse-drawn carriage, by horse or mule, foot or by boat access from the south (when the weather permitted).
As a consequence of modern emigration to the United States, and recently to the larger centre in Santa Cruz das Flores, the population has been in steady decline; in 1814 forty births were registered in the parish, but by the 1980s between two and six births were recorded.
Ecoregions/Protected areas
There are a few lookouts that provide tourists with notable vistas of Ponta Delgada, including Miradouro do Pico do Meio-Dia, Miradouro do Alto do Portalinho and Miradouro do Porto and Miradouro do Facho. In addition Ponta Delgada is bisected by approximately seven pedestrian hiking trails, within the community and with other parishes.Natural Features
- Ponta do Albernaz () - natural rock cliffs located in the western portion of Ponta Delgada, location of the lighthouse
- Ilhéu da Maria Vaz () - named for one of the original settlers of Flores, a small pyramidal islet in the bay of Ponta Delgada along its western coast.
- Ilhéus do João Martins () - named for another settler, and located off the northern coast of Ponta Delgada.
- Pico do Meio Dia () - location of the Chapel of São João Baptista, overlooking the southern part of Ponta Delgada
- Quebrada Nova dos Fenais - a fajã along the southwest limits of parish accessible by pedestrian trail.
- Ponta dos Ilhéus () - an isthmus cliff on the southeast limit of the parish site of several mills constructed during settlement, now mostly in ruins.
Economy
The parish's principal activities are farming and animal husbandry (dairy and cattle ranching primarily), focusing on dairy production, as well as subsistence fishing and a small commercial nucleus. The port has had remodeling and modernization to permit both an increase in commercial traffic between Ponta Delgada , Vila do Corvo (Corvo IslandCorvo Island
Corvo Island , literally the Island of the Crow, is the smallest and the northernmost island of the Azores archipelago and the northernmost in Macaronesia, with a population of approximately 468 inhabitants constituting the smallest single municipality in Azores and in Portugal.-History:A small...
) and the rest of the archipelago
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, as well as to capture lucrative trans-Atlantic maritime tourism.
Civic
- Farol da Ponta do Albernaz () - inaugurated on 28 January 1925 as part of the Plano Geral de Alumiamento e Balizagem () for the northern coast of Flores, with the intent of providing a beacon for shipping passing through the Flores-Corvo;
- Several mills constructed along the river-valley.
Military
- Estação de Telemedidas das Flores () - referred to locally as the French Base of Flores; a ballistic missile tracking station established in 1964, and operational until 1994, when its duties were co-opted by the French tracking ship Monje.
Religious
- Igreja do São Pedro () - parochial church constructed in 1763, and remodeled during the latter part of the 20th Century
- Casas do Espírito Santo da Terra Chã - religious buildings used in annual celebrations for the Divine Holy Spirit, erected in 1819
- Casas do Espírito Santo de Baixo - religious buildings used in annual celebrations for the Divine Holy Spirit, erected in 1847
- Casas do Espírito Santo da Cruz - religious buildings used in annual celebrations for the Divine Holy Spirit, erected in 1865
- Casas do Espírito Santo das Crianças - religious buildings used in annual celebrations for the Divine Holy Spirit, erected in 1926
Culture
The community is the centre of northern activities, and supports several cultural, social and sporting groups. In particular: it is the location of the regions Casa do Povo (literally the house of the people) and its ethnographic folklore group the Grupo Folclórico da Casa do Povo, a modern festival hall, the residence of the Grupo de Música Popular Vozes do Norte, and their football club Clube Desportivo de Ponta Delgada.Festivities
The parish's principal festival is the Festa de São Pedro () celebrated annually on June 29, as well as the Festa do Santo Amaro (), on the first Sunday of September. In addition, the Festa do São João () on the second Sunday of July and the festival Nossa Senhora da Guia () are also important religious events. Ultimately, the celebrations associated with the Holy SpiritHoly Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
, centered around the Sunday of Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
are the highlight of the religious calendar.