Vila de São Sebastião

São Sebastião
Vila de São Sebastião
Civil Parish
The Achada Plain, the remnants of the Guilherme Moniz crater within the parish of São Sebastião
Coat of arms
Official name: Freguesia da Vila de São Sebastião
Name origin: Portuguese for Saint Sebastian
Country  Portugal
Autonomous Region  Azores
Island Terceira
Municipality Angra do Heroísmo
Localities Arrabalde, Boavista, Cavalas, Canada da Salga, Contendas, Cruz, Maria Vieira, Ribeira Seca de Cima, Ribeira Seca de Baixo, Salgueiros, Vila de São Sebastião
Landmark Ponta das Contendas Lighthouse
Center Vila de São Sebastião
 - elevation 149 m (489 ft)
 - coordinates 38°39′56″N 27°5′28″W / 38.66556°N 27.09111°W / 38.66556; -27.09111Coordinates: 38°39′56″N 27°5′28″W / 38.66556°N 27.09111°W / 38.66556; -27.09111
Highest point Canada do Quinhão Grande
 - elevation 394 m (1,293 ft)
 - coordinates 38°42′18″N 27°8′57″W / 38.70500°N 27.14917°W / 38.70500; -27.14917
Lowest point Sea Level
 - location Atlantic Ocean
Area 23.93 km2 (9 sq mi)
 - urban 1.02 km2 (0 sq mi)
Population 2,096 (2011)
Settlement fl. 1500
 - Vila/Town 23 March 1503
 - Civil Parish 24 Outubro 1855
LAU Junta Freguesia
 - location Rua da Praça
 - coordinates 38°39′57″N 27°5′28″W / 38.66583°N 27.09111°W / 38.66583; -27.09111
President Junta José Avelino Carvalho Paím (PS)
President Assembleia Benvinda de Fátima Lima Borges Santos (Independent)
Timezone Azores (UTC-1)
 - summer (DST) Azores (UTC0)
Postal Zone 9700-613
Area Code & Prefix (+351) 292 XXX XXX
Patron Saint São Sebastião
Location of the parish seat of São Sebastião on the island of Terceira
Wikimedia Commons: São Sebastião (Angra do Heroísmo)
Geographic detail from Instituto Geográfico Português (2010)

Vila de São Sebastião, commonly shortened to São Sebastião (Portuguese for Saint Sebastian), is a civil parish in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, on the island of Terceira in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 2,096,[1] in an area of 23.93 square kilometres (9.24 sq mi).[2] It is in the southeastern part of the island of Terceira.

History

The history of the parish is tied to the early settlement of Terceira. A year after the Infante Henry the Navigator signed a charter on 21 March 1450 in Silves to pass the donatorio of the island to the Flemish nobleman Jacome de Bruges, the nobleman made for Terceira, where he disembarked along the southeast shoreline of the island, in an area called Pesqueiro dos Meninos. But, as Francisco Ferreira Drummond later indicated, "that they established themselves a league away, on a vast and appreciable field, that they called Porta Alegre, constructing a small church to the invocation of Santa Ana, the first and only church on the island, where were annexed the chapels of Santo António do Porto Judeu and São Pedro da Ribeirinha...". Drummond later added that these early settlers moved so far to avoid impending conflicts with Spain, in which Portugal was commonly active.

This areas was the oldest demographic centre by the time that Jácome de Bruges left Porta Alegre in 1456 to launch another settlement in Praia. By this time a second place, Ribeira de Frei João was already inhabited by a nascent community. The discovery of a marble slab with inscriptions by Drummond and local inhabitants in 1780 imply that the parochial church of São Sebastião was established in 1480. Although the early church of Sant'Ana da Portalegre das Quatro Ribeiras was constructed some time after early settlement, the construction of a temple in the locality of Ribeira de Frei João was almost immediate.

King Manuel I in a charter dated 23 March 1503 elevated the local community to the status of Vila (town) and seat of the municipality (which included the parishes of Porto Judeu and the locality of Raminho, which for a time pertained to the ecclesiastical parish of Altares). At this time, owing to the Church's patron saint being Saint Sebastian, the new municipality was renamed São Sebastião.

In 1836, Francisco Ferreira Drummond fought against the idea of dissolving the old municipality and merging it into Angra do Heroísmo. On April 1, 1870, São Sebastião became part of Angra do Heroísmo and changed its name to Vila de São Sebastião.

Salga Bay

Architecture

Civic

Religious

Notable citizens

References

  1. ↑ Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  2. ↑ Eurostat
  3. ↑ Noé, Paula (2013), SIPA, ed., Fontanário Armoreado do Rossio/Fonte de Santa AnaAna (IPA.00008170/PT071901150041) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, retrieved 1 January 2014
  4. ↑ Noé, Paula (2012), SIPA, ed., Capela da Misericórdia de São Sebastião e Casa de Francisco Ferreira Drumond (IPA.00033675/PT071901150114) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, retrieved 1 January 2014
  5. ↑ Noé, Paula (2013), SIPA, ed., Capela de Santa Ana/Ermida de Santa Ana/Igreja de Santa Ana (IPA.00034443/PT071901150126) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, retrieved 1 January 2014
  6. ↑ Noé, Paula; Gordalina, Rosário (2000), SIPA, ed., Igreja Paroquial de São Sebastião/Igreja de São Sebastião (IPA.00008098/PT071901150002) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, retrieved 1 January 2014
  7. ↑ Noé, Paula (2012), SIPA, ed., Império do Espírito Santo de São Sebastião (IPA.00033789/PT071901150103) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, retrieved 1 January 2014
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