History
The construction of the church began in 1781, on the site of a primitive temple in an area that was once the centre of the original town, under the direction of its first vicar, the Ouvidor Father Manuel Lourenço Vieira. It was only 1859 that the church was consecrated; the delay in its construction is reflected in the facade which consists of two distinct styles, the last phase of poorer nature. On 5 November 1998, a resolution by the President of the regional government (220/1998, JORAA, Série 1, 45) supported the classification of the property as a landmark of municipal importance. On 9 September 2004, it was reclassified under terms of Article 94 (Decree 107/2001) as a ''Imóvel de Interesse Público'' (''Property of Public Interest'').Architecture
The church is situated to the left of the ''Praceta Roberto de Mesquita'', incorporated into a walled garden with an octagonal reflecting pool. The large church (of great dimensions by Azorean standards) is situated in an elevated courtyard relation to the road, accessible by five large paved stairs with Portuguese pavement stone in a semi-circular form that amplifies the courtyard. The open space to the left of the church is defined by a lateral facade, tower and sacristy, as well as being paved in Portuguese pavement between stonework. The areas to the right facade are covered in grass. The building assumes an important position in Santa Cruz, being visible from most places in the town. It includes a principal body, a narrower chancel, two bell towers and annex structures on either side of the presbytery forming L-shaped extensions of the presbytery and nave. The entire building is constructed in masonry and stonework, plastered and painted in white, except for the , cornerstone, cornices, pilasters, columns, frames, pinnacles and decorative elements, that include interior arches, pillars, corbels and stonework. The principal facade is divided into three levels by cornices and three vertical sections by pilasters. On the ground floor, each section has a doorway, that corresponds to the three naves of the church. Framing the doorways are double lintels and cornices, with the doors flanked by large columns on pronounced pedestals. The capitals of the columns integrate into the cornice of the door, with the lateral columns topped by Ionic columns, while the central portico is topped by Corinthian columns. On the first lintel of each door is a rosette in relief, while above each capital is a bulky element that unites the cornice from the other levels. Over the cornice are vertical pinnacles above the columns. The intermediary level is occupied a guillotine window per section, aligned to the doorway on the ground floor (but narrower). Each window is framed in a similar form of the doors, but with skirt between the pedestals and its columns. In each of the pedestals are inscriptions in Latin that read (from left to right): :''CONCEPTIONEM'', ''BEATÆ'', ''VIRGINIS'', ''MARIÆ'', ''CUMGAUDIO'' and ''RECOLAMUS'' :''Conception'', ''Blessed'', ''Virgin'', ''Mary'' Above the capitals of the columns are windows, which are more elaborated then the doors, bulky elements that connect the second cornice, to the upper (similar to the ones anterior). The third level of the facade is divided into sections by the pilasters that rise from the preceding base into the curvilinear frontispiece topped by iron cross on a plinth. The pilaster divisions terminate in pinnacles just below the edge of the frontispiece. The central section has polylobal oculus framed by square stonework and cornice, from which rises a pilaster terminating at the central apex of the frontispiece in a diamond. Complementing the central oculus are lateral double-framed diamond-shaped oculi, surmounted by small niche in relief. Above each of the oculi is a linear cornice, supporting a segment of pilaster that terminates in another pinnacle that erupts from the frontispiece. The bell towers are implanted on either side of the facade, divided into three sections by the extension of the cornices. The ground floor section includes a guillotine window with simple stonework frame, which is repeated in the second section. The framedInterior
The interior consists of three naves divided by two lines of five arches supported by square pillars over protruding pedestal, base and capitals. The axial doorway is protected by a wooden windbreak, supporting a high-choir that occupies the first part of the naves (whose pillars are lower and support the walls that divided the choir in three sections. The supports for the central section are reinforced by four pillerettes in wood (two of smaller dimensions) connected to the windbreak, with the connection between the three sections accomplished through the doors. In addition to a central organ, on either side of the choir there are doorways that connecting it to the bell towers. These doorways are framed by stonework and double lintel, surmounted by cornice. On the ground floor, on the epistole side, is a door that connects it to the interior of the tower, with staircase to the choir. On each of the pillars in the first part of the nave areReferences
Notes
Sources
* * * * * * {{citation , title=Arquivo da Arquitectura Popular dos Açores , contribution=Ficha 8/Flores , location=Angra do Heroísmo (Azores), Portugal , publisher=Direção Regional da Cultura , language=Portuguese Nossa Senhora Conceicao Santa Cruz Church Nossa Senhora Conceicao