Capelas
Encyclopedia
Capelas is a civil parish along the northern coast of the municipality of Ponta Delgada
, on the island of São Miguel
in the Portuguese Azores
. It extends an area of 16.87 km² with a population of less than 3,759 inhabitants in 2001 (its density is 222.82/km²), primarily involved in agriculture.
; its first settlers establishing shelters in and around the 16th Century. With elevation of Capelas to (religious) parish it became integrated within the municipality of Ponta Delgada (on 11 July 1592). This administrative dependancy lasted until it was elevated to status of vila, as stipulated by the Carta de Lei (English: Charter Law) conferred by Queen D. Maria, on July 10, 1839.
There exists a couple of versions for Capela's toponomic origin. Father Gaspar Frutuoso
in Saudades das Terras notes the following:
Likewise, the brothers Bullar, in an account in their journeys, referred to a likely reality: they refer to a general local reference to the rocks along the coast as capelas, rocks taking on the appearance of small grottos and seeming to appear as chapels.
Its main church, to the invocation of Nossa Senhora da Apresentação (English: Our Lady of the Presentation) was raised on the ruins of an older priory and concluded in 1780. Similarly, the church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, built on the orders of Captain Agostinho de Medeiros Costa, in the 17th century, and reconstructed and expanded in 1830. Although Capelas may not have been named for the religious sanctuaries that were erected there, there are many to speak of, including the chapels of Anjo da Guarda, Santa Rita, Nossa Senhora do Rosário and Nossa Senhora de Santana, as well as many smaller hermitages to the invocation of the Holy Spirit.
During the whaling
era in the Azores (early to middle 20th Century), Capelas was an important northern processing center on the island of São Miguel; close to the public pools around Poços is the ruins of the mixed-use factory used to process whale oil and mill flour. In Calhau Miúdo there existed two factories (Companhia Nova and Companhia Velha) to process whale byproducts during this period.
(to the west) and Ribeira Grande (to the east). Farmlands dominate the north and east portions of the parish, while the area from the E.R.1-1ª regional road towards the interior are dominated by mountains, river valleys and some ancient volcanic cones.
The administrative extent of Capelas incorporates the localities (Portuguese: lugares) of Teatro Novo, Conceição and Poços.
Capelas has a school, a lyceum, a gymnasium and a square (praça). It also has two small ports, one of which (known as "Poços") played a crucial role during centuries when Capelas was an important whaling
center.
Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
, on the island of São Miguel
São Miguel Island
São Miguel Island , nicknamed "The Green Island", is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese Azores archipelago. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, 45,000 of these people located in the largest city in the archipelago: Ponta Delgada.-History:In 1427, São Miguel...
in the Portuguese Azores
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...
. It extends an area of 16.87 km² with a population of less than 3,759 inhabitants in 2001 (its density is 222.82/km²), primarily involved in agriculture.
History
The first settlements congregated around the port of Poços, along the northern edge that divides Capelas from São Vicente FerreiraSão Vicente Ferreira
São Vicente Ferreira is a parish in the district of Ponta Delgada in the Azores. The population in 2001 is 1664, its density is 145.96/km² and the area is 11.4 km². The Atlantic Ocean is to the north and the land is to the south. It is located in the northwestern part of the island of São...
; its first settlers establishing shelters in and around the 16th Century. With elevation of Capelas to (religious) parish it became integrated within the municipality of Ponta Delgada (on 11 July 1592). This administrative dependancy lasted until it was elevated to status of vila, as stipulated by the Carta de Lei (English: Charter Law) conferred by Queen D. Maria, on July 10, 1839.
There exists a couple of versions for Capela's toponomic origin. Father Gaspar Frutuoso
Gaspar Frutuoso
Gaspar Frutuoso was a Portuguese priest, historian and humanist from the island of São Miguel, in the Azores...
in Saudades das Terras notes the following:
- "Some say that they call it 'capelas', not because there existed in those parts churches or chapels, but that on the feast day of Saint John [the Baptist] some men constructed there some [small] chapels, forgetting them hung from a tree..."
Likewise, the brothers Bullar, in an account in their journeys, referred to a likely reality: they refer to a general local reference to the rocks along the coast as capelas, rocks taking on the appearance of small grottos and seeming to appear as chapels.
Its main church, to the invocation of Nossa Senhora da Apresentação (English: Our Lady of the Presentation) was raised on the ruins of an older priory and concluded in 1780. Similarly, the church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, built on the orders of Captain Agostinho de Medeiros Costa, in the 17th century, and reconstructed and expanded in 1830. Although Capelas may not have been named for the religious sanctuaries that were erected there, there are many to speak of, including the chapels of Anjo da Guarda, Santa Rita, Nossa Senhora do Rosário and Nossa Senhora de Santana, as well as many smaller hermitages to the invocation of the Holy Spirit.
During the whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
era in the Azores (early to middle 20th Century), Capelas was an important northern processing center on the island of São Miguel; close to the public pools around Poços is the ruins of the mixed-use factory used to process whale oil and mill flour. In Calhau Miúdo there existed two factories (Companhia Nova and Companhia Velha) to process whale byproducts during this period.
Geography
Located along the northern coast, the parish has been connected to major centers by a series of roads linking the community to the city of Ponta Delgada (to the south), MosteirosMosteiros (Ponta Delgada)
Mosteiros is a civil parish in the municipality of Ponta Delgada in the Azores. The population in 2001 was 1196, its density is 130/km² and the area is 9.2 km². It is located in the northwestern part of the island of São Miguel and is connected by roads to Ponta Delgada in the south and...
(to the west) and Ribeira Grande (to the east). Farmlands dominate the north and east portions of the parish, while the area from the E.R.1-1ª regional road towards the interior are dominated by mountains, river valleys and some ancient volcanic cones.
The administrative extent of Capelas incorporates the localities (Portuguese: lugares) of Teatro Novo, Conceição and Poços.
Capelas has a school, a lyceum, a gymnasium and a square (praça). It also has two small ports, one of which (known as "Poços") played a crucial role during centuries when Capelas was an important whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
center.