Santa Cruz da Graciosa

Santa Cruz da Graciosa
Municipality (Concelho)
The municipal seat of Santa Cruz da Graciosa, as seen from off the northeast coast of the island of Graciosa
Flag
Coat of arms
Official name: Concelho de Santa Cruz das Flores
Name origin: santa cruz, Portuguese for holy cross; literally Holy Cross of Graciosa
Country  Portugal
Autonomous Region  Azores
Island Graciosa
Civil Parishes Guadalupe, Luz, Santa Cruz da Graciosa, Praia
Center Santa Cruz da Graciosa
 - elevation 140 m (459 ft)
 - coordinates 39°3′17″N 28°0′51″W / 39.05472°N 28.01417°W / 39.05472; -28.01417Coordinates: 39°3′17″N 28°0′51″W / 39.05472°N 28.01417°W / 39.05472; -28.01417
Highest point Caldeira
 - elevation 405 m (1,329 ft)
 - coordinates 39°1′15″N 27°58′2″W / 39.02083°N 27.96722°W / 39.02083; -27.96722
Lowest point Sea level
 - location Atlantic Ocean
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Area 60.66 km2 (23 sq mi)
 - water .015 km2 (0 sq mi)
 - urban 3.63 km2 (1 sq mi)
Population 4,391 (2011)
Density 72/km2 (186/sq mi)
Settlement c.1475
 - Municipality c.1832
LAU Câmara Municipal
 - location Largo Vasco da Gama
 - elevation 7 m (23 ft)
 - coordinates 39°5′9″N 28°0′20″W / 39.08583°N 28.00556°W / 39.08583; -28.00556
President Manuel Avelar Cunha Santos (PS)
Municipal Chair João Manuel Bettencourt Cunha (PPD/PSD)
Timezone Azores (UTC-1)
 - summer (DST) Azores (UTC0)
Postal Zone 9880-352
Area Code & Prefix (+351) 292 XXX XXX
Demonym Santa-cruzense
Municipal Holidays 2nd Monday in August
Location of the municipality of Santa Cruz da Graciosa in the archipelago of the Azores
Wikimedia Commons: Santa Cruz da Graciosa
Website: http://cm-graciosa.azoresdigital.pt/
Statistics from INE (2001); geographic detail from Instituto Geográfico Português (2010)

Santa Cruz da Graciosa (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈsɐ̃tɐ ˈkɾuʒ ðɐ ɣɾɐsiˈɔzɐ]) is a Portuguese municipality on the island of Graciosa, in the archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 4,391,[1] in an area of 60.66 km².[2] It includes four local parishes and one municipal government structure, which administers the entire island.

History

While the date of its first discovery is uncertain, it is known that its first settlers arrived from the island of Terceira around 1450.[3] One of the first settlers was Vasco Gil Sodre.

The early settlement was primarily agrarian, but by 1486 its population had grown sufficiently to warrant the founding of the vila (or town) of Santa Cruz in 1486, while Praia lost this role.[3]

Between the 16th-17th century, Graciosa was regularly attacked by pirates and privateers, which obliged the local government to construct fortifications along the island's coast for defense.[3]

Over the centuries Santa Cruz was visited by important travellers. The Jesuit António Vieira, who stopped in the village after a shipwreck while returning to Lisbon from Brazil.[3] Later the French writer Chateaubrian, in 1791, whilst fleeing the horrors of the French Revolution stopped in Graciosa en route to America.[3] In 1814, a young Almeida Garret wrote some of his first verses, already a revelation of his budding talents. Finally, in 1879, Prince Albert of Monaco, notable for his oceanographic and maritime studies, stopped in Graciosa and visited Furna do Enxofre. He was one of the first to descend the volcanic chamber using a rope ladder.[3]

The construction of the port in Praia, and the northern aerodrome, were important in breaking the island's isolation and concentration on agriculture.[3]

Geography

Physical geography

Human geography

Santa Cruz da Graciosa, is the largest urbanized settlement on the island of Graciosa, Azores
A partial glimpse of the civil parish of Praia on the southern coast of Graciosa

The territory of Graciosa Island consists of one municipality, Santa Cruz da Graciosa (4,780 inhabitants in 2001), which is divided into four civil parishes:

The population centers on the island, apart from appearing dispersed, are concentrated along the road network. This is typical of many of other Azorean islands, usually colonized along important corridors corresponding to river-valleys or open terrains. Consequently, urban development has been conditioned by the islands geomorphology resulting in four principal axes of settlement supporting 80% of the islands population:

References

Notes
  1. Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  2. Eurostat
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Câmara Municipal (ed.). "Concelho da Santa Cruz da Graciosa" (in Portuguese). Santa Cruz da Graciosa, Azores: Câmara Municipal da Santa Cruz da Graciosa. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
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