São Pedro (Vila do Porto)

São Pedro
Civil Parish
The northern coastal frontier of São Pedro, as seen from Pico Alto, island of Santa Maria
Official name: Freguesia de São Pedro
Name origin: Portuguese for Saint Peter
Country  Portugal
Autonomous Region  Azores
Island Santa Maria
Municipality Vila do Porto
Center São Pedro
 - elevation 210 m (689 ft)
 - coordinates 36°59′1″N 25°7′12″W / 36.98361°N 25.12000°W / 36.98361; -25.12000Coordinates: 36°59′1″N 25°7′12″W / 36.98361°N 25.12000°W / 36.98361; -25.12000
Highest point Pico Alto
 - location Alto do Nascente
 - elevation 536 m (1,759 ft)
 - coordinates 36°59′8″N 25°5′27″W / 36.98556°N 25.09083°W / 36.98556; -25.09083
Lowest point Sea level
 - location Atlantic Ocean
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Area 18.17 km2 (7 sq mi)
 - urban .74 km2 (0 sq mi)
Population 841 (2011)
Density 46 / km2 (119 / sq mi)
LAU Junta Freguesia
 - location Termo da Igreja
 - elevation 203 m (666 ft)
 - coordinates 36°58′44″N 25°7′19″W / 36.97889°N 25.12194°W / 36.97889; -25.12194
Timezone Azores (UTC-1)
 - summer (DST) Azores (UTC0)
Postal Zone 9580-332
Area Code & Prefix (+351) 292 XXX-XXXX
Patron Saint São Pedro
Location of the civil parish of São Pedro within the municipality of Vila do Porto
Wikimedia Commons: São Pedro (Vila do Porto)

São Pedro (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w̃ ˈpedɾu]) is a Portuguese civil parish, located in the municipality of Vila do Porto, in the Portuguese autonomous region of Azores. The population in 2011 was 841,[1] in an area of 18.17 km².[2] It consists of the localities Atafona, Alto do Nascente, Bananeiras, Canavais, Chão do João Tomé, Covões, Faneca, Feteiras de Baixo, Feteiras de Cima, Jogo, Outeiro, Paul de Baixo, Paul de Cima, Ribeira do Engenho, Roças, São Pedro, Trevina and Pilar.

History

The first recorded birth in this region, Margarida Afonso, occurred in the locality of Paul.

São Pedro was chronologically the fourth ecclesiastical parish to be created (in 1603), following the pastoral visit of the D. Jerónimo Teixeira Cabral, the Bishop of Angra. Its creation was confirmed by Philip II on 5 March 1611.[3] The first seat of the parish was the Church of São Pedro, in the area of Pedras de São Pedro, which Gaspar Frutuoso referred to as one of four hermitages that existed, near the village, situated ahead of the Church of Santo Antão.[4]

Philip III, by regal decree, on 4 April 1623, accepted the petition of the vicar and habitants in São Pedro, authorized a donation for the public works on the hermitage in Pedras de São Pedro, which were declared necessary, after the visit of then-Bishop Pedro da Costa.

This hermitage had served as the parish seat until 1698, the year that by virtue of its population increase, a new church was opened in the locality of Rosa Alta to serve the local population.

Due to the rich, fertile soils, São Pedro was always an agricultural centre, and basis for their economy. This allowed the continued prosperity of its signeurial holdings, and characterized by large manorhouses (Portuguese: solares) with their own chapels.

Architecture

Religious

References

Notes
  1. Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  2. Eurostat
  3. Puim, Arsénio Chaves (19 May 2011), "Paróquia de São Pedro foi criada há 400 anos", O Baluarte de Santa Maria (407) (Série II ed.), p. 28 Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  4. Gaspar Frutuoso, Saudades da Terra, Livro III. Capítulo VI
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