Ponta Delgada
From Freepedia
- This article is about a city in Sao Miguel Island, Azores. There is also Ponta Delgada (Flores, Azores) and Ponta Delgada (Madeira)
| Ponta Delgada | |
|---|---|
| Coat of Arms | Flag |
| Image:PDL.png | Image:Pt-pdl1.png |
| Statistics | |
| Population: | 65,853 (2001) |
| Area: | 231,90 km² |
| Density: | 283.97/km² |
| Parishes: | 24 |
| Website: | www.pontadelgadadigital.com |
Ponta Delgada is a city on São Miguel Island in the Azores (an autonomous region of Portugal). It has a population of 30,000 (66,000 in the municipality). It serves as the seat of the executive government of the Azores Autonomous Region. Ponta Delgada is truly a charming and active city; it is the tourist heart of the Azores. Museums and monuments are everywhere, and the historic streets connect everything form hotels to shops and restaurants. Its huge first class marina harbours boats form all around globe and its nightlife attracts people from all over. In the evenings, especially during the summer, throngs of people promenade along the Infante Dom Henrique Avenue (by the seaside). The airport lies on the western edge of the city, from which there are daily flights to the other islands and mainland Portugal.
Image:Ponta Delgada - square and house.JPG
The area around the city is divided into two sections, Fajã de Baixo and Fajã de Cima. It is accessed by roads, one linking west to Mosteiros, northeast to Ribeira Grande and east to Furnas and Povoação. Fajã de Baixo is agricultural with pineapple cultivation. Fajã de Cima has festivities. Many of the inhabitants work in the centre of the city.
Ponta Delgada also has a university, the Universidade dos Açores (University of Azores), as well as schools, lyceums, gymnasia, banks, post offices, sporting facilities, a major soccer team and several squares (praças).
The mountains are to the northern part, the western part and about 1 to 2 km away from the Atlantic Ocean.
The soccer teams for Ponta Delgada are Clube Desportivo Santa Clara (Divisão de Honra (Honor League)), Clube União Micaelense (2ª Divisão B (2nd league))and Marítimo da Calheta (Campeonato de S.Miguel (regional league)).
Contents |
Local government
Ponta Delgada is also a municipality with 24 parishes, one of the most in the Azores. It is encircled with the Atlantic Ocean except for the east where the municipalities of Ribeira Grande and Lagoa are in the east.
The 24 parishes of Ponta Delgada include:
- Ajuda da Bretanha
- Arrifes
- Candelária
- Capelas
- Covoada
- Fajã de Baixo
- Fajã de Cima
- Fenais da Luz
- Feteiras
- Ginetes
- Livramento
- Mosteiros
- Pilar da Bretanha
- Relva
- Remédios
- Santa Bárbara
- Santa Clara
- Santo António
- São José (Ponta Delgada)
- São Pedro (Ponta Delgada)
- São Roque
- São Sebastião (Ponta Delgada), previously Matriz (Ponta Delgada)
- São Vicente Ferreira
- Sete Cidades
Persons
- António Feliciano de Castilho (January 28, 1800 in Lisbon - June 18, 1875), lived for his last few years in Ponta Delgada, a Portuguese romantic writer
- Antero de Quental (April 18, 1842 - September 11, 1891), a Portuguese poet
- Teófilo Braga (February 24, 1843 - January 28, 1924 in Lisbon), a Portuguese writer and the second president of Portugal
- Roberto Ivens (June 12, 1850 in the parish of São Pedro - January 28, 1898 in Dafundo, Lisbon)
- João Bosco Soares Mota Amaral (April 15, 1543) President of Government of the Azores Autonomous Region (1976-1995), President of Assembleia da República (The Republic Parlament) (IX Legislature), and others.
Settlements
| Name | Latitude | Longitude | Elevation | Map links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lomba da Cruz | 37.81667 N | 25.81667 W | 123 m (406 ft) | Map (Mapquest) Aerial photograph (Terraserver) |
| Cerrado das Freiras | 37.8667 (37°52') N | 25.7833 (25°46') W | 593 m (1,948 ft) | Street map from Mapquest, Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver |
The municipality has an area of 232 km^2, and a total population of 63,118 (2001). 21 of the 24 parishes are over 1,000 in population. The largest parish in population is São José and in density is São Pedro. The smallest in population is Sete Cidades. The largest parish is Arrifes; the smallest is Fajã de Baixo. The most populated parish is Fajã de Baixo and the least is Sete Cidades. The highest elevation is in the parish of Remédios.
External links
- http://www.pontadelgadadigital.com - Website of Ponta Delgada (in Portuguese)
- http://www.azoren-online.com/saomiguel/tipps/sehenswuerdigkeiten/pontadelgada/index.shtml (in German)
