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Horta () is a municipality and city in the
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
archipelago of the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
encompassing the island of Faial. The population in 2011 was 15,038 in an area of The city of Horta itself has a population of about 7,000. Horta's marina is a primary stop for yachts crossing the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
, and its walls and walkways are covered with paintings created by visitors noting the names of their vessels, crews, and the years they visited. Peter's Cafe Sport is a bar located across from the marina that houses the island's
scrimshaw Scrimshaw is scrollwork, engravings, and carvings done in bone or ivory. Typically it refers to the artwork created by whalers, engraved on the byproducts of whales, such as bones or cartilage. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth ...
museum, a collection of artifacts carved from whale tooth and jawbone. Peter's is a point of reference for transatlantic yachters and sailors.


History


15th through 17th centuries

In 1467 the Flemish nobleman
Josse van Huerter Joost De Hurtere (1430 in Torhout – 1495 in Horta), also known by several transliterations (such as ''Josse van Huerter, Josse van Hurtere'', ''Josse De Hurtere'' or ''Joss van Hürter'', and later in Portuguese, ''Joss de Utra'' or just ''D ...
returned to Faial on a second expedition, this time disembarking along the shore of what would be known as Horta Bay. He built a small chapel which would later form the nucleus of a small community known as Horta, a name possibly derived from the transliteration of his name. In the Portuguese language the word ''horta'' means " orchard," another possible origin of the settlement's name. The infante D. Fernando, Duke of Viseu, granted Huerter the first
captaincy A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule ...
of the island on February 2, 1468. Unlike on other Azorean islands, Flemish peasants and business interests were not the first settlers of Faial. The first Faialense settlers were generally farmers from continental Portugal—particularly northern Portugal—hoping to escape poverty. Huerter eventually cultivated new business opportunities in Flanders, attracting a second wave of Flemish settlers under the stewardship of
Willem van der Haegen D. Willem van der Haegen (1430; Flanders – 21 December 1507/9; São Jorge, Azores), or Willem De Kersemakere, known in Portuguese as Guilherme da Silveira, or Guilherme Casmaca, was a Flemish-born Azorean entrepreneur, explorer, and colonizer. ...
(later transliterated to ''Guilherme da Silveira''), who brought Flemish administrators, tradesmen, settlers, and other compatriots to settle on Faial. Huerter's son Joss de Utra (who would become the second
Captain-General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...
) and his daughter D. Joana de Macedo (who married
Martin Behaim Martin Behaim (6 October 1459 – 29 July 1507), also known as and by various forms of , was a German textile merchant and cartographer. He served John II of Portugal as an adviser in matters of navigation and participated in a voyage to We ...
at the Santa Cruz chapel) continued living on Faial long after van Huerter's death. In 1498 King Manuel I of Portugal decreed Horta elevated to the status of ''vila'' (''town''), as its center had grown to the north from the area around the Santa Cruz chapel. The island prospered by exporting wheat and woad-derived dyes. On June 28, 1514, the parish of Matriz do São Salvador da Horta was constituted and services were begun. In 1567 the cornerstone of what would be the Fort of Santa Cruz was laid. Horta's increasing population compelled the creation of the parishes of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (July 30, 1568) and Nossa Senhora da Angustias (November 28, 1684) by the diocese of Angra. As two nuclei developed around Santa Cruz and Porto Pim, growth also extended around the older Matriz, where the Tower Clock now stands, and the public square, where ''Alameda Barão de Roches'' now exists. Public buildings were erected between ''Rua Visconde Leite Perry'' and ''Rua Arriage Nunes'' and eventually the town hall and court offices moved to the former Jesuit College, after the Jesuits were expelled from Portugal in 1758. In 1583—during the beginning of the Iberian Union—Spanish soldiers under the command of D. Pedro de Toledo landed in Pasteleiro on Faial's southwestern coast. After skirmishing at the doors of the fort, the Spanish executed Captain of Faial António Guedes de Sousa. Four years later
George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland Sir George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, 13th Baron de Clifford, 13th Lord of Skipton, (8 August 155830 October 1605), was an English peer, naval commander, and courtier of Queen Elizabeth I of England. He was notable at court for his j ...
—while commanding a fleet of 13 British ships in the
Azores Voyage of 1589 The Azores Voyage of 1589, also known as Cumberland's Third Voyage, was a series of conflicts in the Azores islands between August and September 1589 by an English military joint stock expedition led by George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, du ...
—captured a Spanish ship and then plundered Faial's churches and convents, profaning them and destroying
reliquaries A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fer ...
and
crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...
es. The British captured several artillery pieces and set fire to houses within the Fort of Santa Cruz. In 1597 a new British force under
Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...
, second in command to
Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest followin ...
, sacked and burned religious buildings and churches in Horta and the neighboring parishes of
Flamengos Flamengos is a Portuguese civil parish ( pt, freguesia) on the island of Faial in the archipelago of the Azores. Its name was derived from the grouping of Flemish settlers who made their homes in this landlocked valley, in the municipality of ...
, Feteira, and
Praia do Almoxarife Praia do Almoxarife is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the municipality (''concelho'') of Horta, of the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 834, in an area of 9.20 km². Although it was the beachhead of early ...
. The constant threat of privateers and pirates forced the construction of several forts and lookouts. In 1643, Horta had about 2579 inhabitants and 610 homes. In 1675 D. Frei Lourenço, Bishop of Angra, authorized the renovation and re-ornamentation of the chapel of Santa Cruz. This work was completed in 1688.


18th and 19th centuries

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Horta was a small town extending along the shoreline. It was peppered by various convents and churches, but little commerce and almost no industry. However, due to its central location in the Azores and Atlantic Ocean, it prospered as a stopover on important commercial routes between Europe and the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with t ...
. For a time Horta was a center of commerce and travel, particularly as a gateway for Azorean orange exports and exports of wine from
Pico Island Pico Island (''Ilha do Pico,'' ) is an island in the Central Group, Azores, Central Group of the Portugal, Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Mount Pico, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the A ...
, as well as an important stop for North American whalers, and later as a refueling port for coal-powered ships during their transatlantic passages. In 1804 John Bass Dabney (1766–1826), the United States Consul General in the Azores, married Roxanne Lewis and moved to a home in Horta. Their son Charles William Dabney (who later married Francis Alsop Pomeroy) succeeded his father in this position and played an important part in the history and economy of Horta and Faial. This was helped by the construction of a commercial port in 1876 and the installation of transatlantic
telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
cables in 1893. The Dabney family steered the island's economy for 83 years with good effect on the dynamic growth of the port, the export of
orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
s and
Verdelho Verdelho is a white wine grape grown throughout Portugal, though most associated with the island of Madeira, and also gives its name to one of the four main types of Madeira wine. At the turn of the 20th century it was the most widely planted whi ...
wine from Pico, and commerce related to the whaling industry. On September 26, 1814, the American privateer
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...
''
General Armstrong ''General Armstrong'' was an American brig built for privateering in the Atlantic Ocean theater of the War of 1812. She was named for Brigadier General John Armstrong, Sr., who fought in the American Revolutionary War. War of 1812 ''General A ...
'', under the command of
Samuel Chester Reid Samuel Chester Reid (24 August 1783 – 28 January 1861) was an officer in the United States Navy who commanded a privateer during the War of 1812. He is also noted for having helped design the 1818 version of the flag of the United States, ...
, was sunk by three ships of the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
under the command of Robert Lloyd.Carlos Melo Bento (2008), p.80-81 After being forced to scuttle his ship, Reid formally protested the ship's destruction in a neutral port, criticizing Portuguese incapacity to defend their own waters. Her principal piece of naval artillery, the cannon "Long Tom", was later recovered from Horta Bay. It was eventually offered to General Batcheller, the
United States Minister Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...
in Lisbon, in compensation. General Batcheller returned to Horta to pick up the cannon and delivered it to New York City on board the ship USS ''Vega'' on or about April 18, 1893. On July 4, 1833, the ''vila'' of Horta, through the initiative of the Duke d'Ávila and Bolama, was elevated to the status of city and the district capital as a reward for Faial's support of
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...
forces during the Portuguese Liberal Revolution. The city hall's coat of arms were changed to read “Very Loyal City of Horta” by decree of King
Luís I of Portugal Dom Luís I (31 October 1838, in Lisbon – 19 October 1889, in Cascais), known as The Popular ( Portuguese: O Popular) was a member of the ruling House of Braganza,"While remaining patrilineal dynasts of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha acc ...
on May 3, 1865. Construction of Horta's commercial port in 1876 increased the city's international importance. On August 23, 1893, the first telegraph cables linking Horta (Alagoa) and Lisbon (Carcavelos) made Horta a link in transatlantic communication. The presence of several foreign cable companies in Horta increased the economic activity and development, urban growth, and frequency of cultural and sporting activities on the island. Between 1893 and 1969 Horta was an important post in intercontinental communications.


20th century

Horta entered into the annals of early aviation history when United States Navy Captain
Albert Cushing Read Albert Cushing Read, Sr. (March 29, 1887 – October 10, 1967) was an aviator and Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. He and his crew made the first transatlantic flight in the ''NC-4'', a Curtiss NC flying boat. Early life and Atlantic cros ...
completed the first Atlantic leg of the first transatlantic flight when he landed his
Curtiss NC-4 The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC flying boat that was the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, albeit not non-stop. The NC designation was derived from the collaborative efforts of the Navy (N) and Curtiss (C). The NC series flying boats w ...
floatplane in the Bay of Horta in May 1919. In 1921 Dutch seagoing
tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
s began using Horta as a stopover. After a hiatus during World War II, they returned during the period of European reconstruction. After 1939 Horta was a scheduled waypoint on the transatlantic
flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fuselag ...
routes between North America and Europe, including the
Pan Am Clipper Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
fleet which docked in Horta harbour. By 1960 yachts started using Horta's sheltered port during transatlantic voyages. On 24 August 1971, in the civil parish of Castelo Branco, President of Portugal
Américo Tomás Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tomás (; 19 November 1894 – 18 September 1987) was a Portuguese Navy officer and politician who served as the 13th president of Portugal from 1958 to 1974. Biography Early life Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tom ...
inaugurated the Horta Airport. Since 1972 the ''Sociedade Açoreana de Transportes Aéreos'' (which was the forerunner of SATA Air Azores) has provided scheduled flights from Horta to the islands of the ''triangle'' (Central Group). During the 1980s TAP Air Portugal, the national
flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hist ...
, established direct service from Horta to Lisbon, while further fleet improvements allowed SATA to directly link Horta with all Azorean islands. Following major renovations in December 2001, the airport was designated an
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longe ...
, although no foreign airlines have scheduled or charter flights arriving at Horta Airport. Periodic improvements to Horta harbour allowed the city to become a stopover for yachts and cruise ships and provide ongoing assistance to transatlantic voyagers. This was facilitated when the municipal authority inaugurated a 300-slip marina on 3 June 1986. Horta harbour is a fleet centre for the Azorean ferry lines Transmaçor and Atlanticoline, resulting in new investments and the construction of a secondary pier for inter-island passenger traffic.


Geography


Physical geography


Climate

Horta has the typical humid subtropical climate with significant Mediterranean influences associated with the Azores. Horta, along with nearby Madalena is one of the Azorean cities most prone to high temperatures, and unlike
Angra do Heroísmo Angra do Heroísmo (), or simply Angra, is a city and municipality on Terceira Island, Portugal, and one of the three capital cities of the Azores. Founded in 1478, Angra was historically the most important city in the Azores, as seat of the Bis ...
and Ponta Delgada, temperatures above have been recorded on a few occasions. Averages, however, are extremely similar to the aforementioned cities. Precipitation averages about per year and is concentrated from September to February. On average November is the wettest month, while July is the driest. Temperatures are mild to warm year-round and average in the daytime and at night.


Human geography

Three parishes comprise the urban area of the city of Horta (the urbanized area and historical center):
Angústias Angústias is one of the three ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") that comprise the urban area of the city of Horta, on the island of Faial in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. This is an economically active, densely populated area. The popul ...
, Conceição, and Matriz. The remaining parishes comprising the rest of the municipality are located along the Regional E.R.1-1ª road network, and includes lands from the ocean to the central volcano (with the exception of Flamengos, which is the only landlocked parish). Faial Island, comprising Horta's urbanized area and the parishes, has an area of *
Capelo Capelo is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the municipality of Horta on the island of Faial in the Azorean archipelago. The population in 2011 was 486, in an area of 26.64 km². Capelo may be considered the westernmost settlement of Eura ...
- located in the western portion of the island that includes the most recent historic volcanism on the island; location of the Capelinhos Volcano and Recreational Forest Park * Castelo Branco - located on the southern coastal area between Capelo and Feteiras; location of Horta International Airport *
Cedros Cedros, Portuguese and Spanish for ''cedars'', may refer to the following places: Honduras * Cedros, Francisco Morazán, a municipality in the Department of Francisco Morazán Mexico *Cedros Island, an island in the State of Baja California Portu ...
- largest civil parish and agricultural lands, located on the northern coast between Capelo and Salão * Feteira - southern parish located between the urbanized core of Horta and Castelo Branco; primarily agricultural activities in transition into suburban community of Horta *
Flamengos Flamengos is a Portuguese civil parish ( pt, freguesia) on the island of Faial in the archipelago of the Azores. Its name was derived from the grouping of Flemish settlers who made their homes in this landlocked valley, in the municipality of ...
- the only landlocked civil parish on the island, established by original settlers from the Low Countries of Europe *
Pedro Miguel Pedro Miguel is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the northeastern part of the municipality of Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores. Pedro Miguel is located 6 km north of the city of Horta on the main regional road that encircles the ...
- located to the north of Praia do Almoxarife, along the eastern coast *
Praia do Almoxarife Praia do Almoxarife is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the municipality (''concelho'') of Horta, of the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 834, in an area of 9.20 km². Although it was the beachhead of early ...
- original settlers disembarked along the beach of Praia do Almoxarife during the original 1465 and 1467 expeditions; currently the main tourist beach community on the island *
Praia do Norte Praia do Norte is a civil parish of the municipality of Horta, located along the northern coast between Cedros and Capelo, on the Portuguese island of Faial, in the archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 250, in an area of . It i ...
- located between Cedros and Capelo, a zone affected by historic volcanism from the Capelo Volcanic Complex * Ribeirinha - a civil parish occupying the ancient geological zone that formed the island of Faial * Salão - settled by Spanish during the Iberian Union, and located between Cedros and Ribeirinha In 2011, the national census discovered a resident population of 15,038: a slight decrease from the 2001 population (15,063 inhabitants). Yet, the number of aggregate families grew significantly (4795 to 5465 families reporting their participation in such groups), an increase from 2.8 to 3.1 people per family. Similarly, there has been a 21.69% increase in the number occupied buildings within the municipality.


City of Horta

From Espalamaca or Monte da Guia, the city of Horta is typical of insular Portuguese coastal communities and the urban traditions of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The city is seaward looking, much like Angra do Heroísmo or Velas. It is rounded by several volcanic cones located to its southern and eastern margins, the most prominent being Monte da Guaia, Monte do Carneiro, and Monte Escuro. Horta is centered along its principal avenue—referred to as either Avenida Marginal or Avenida D. Infante Henriques—and cut by several smaller roads. The city's historical center lies to the north near Espalamaca, with a grouping of north–south and east–west roads developed during initial colonization. The population of Horta's urban center during the first decade of the 21st century was about 7,000. Horta grew from streets such as: * Rua Vista Alegre/Ladeira da Paiva/travessa Almeida Garrett (that includes the Church Matriz, and Convent of Saint John); * Rua Advogado Graça/Travessa do Poiso Novo (where the original Casa da Câmara and Convent of Glory were situated); * Rua de São Paulo; * Rua de São Pedro and Travessa da Misericórdia; and, * Rua Dr. Azevedo and Calçada M. Vila, near the entrance to the Largo do Colégio. * Rua de São João * Rua Ten. Aragão (currently between the Império dos Nobres and the Sociedade Amor da Pátria) * Rua da Conceição/Alameda Barão de Roches/Rua D. Pedro IV/Rua E. Rebelo, with the Pelourinho, the Casa da Câmara and older urban prison (Cadeia), the Convent of Glory, this area constituted the original Vila of Horta. The oldest dwellings and the older ornate façades are located in this area. * Rua Maestro Simaria, located near the Rua Serpa Pinto, and the ancient Largo do Colégio Jesuíta; * Rua Conselheiro Miguel da Silveira, and open to the Avenida Marginal. These streets formed from the central colony along hills parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ocean. Littoral growth was made cautiously until the town square, civic center, town hall, and local water wells were built along the seashore in both directions. Religious institutions generally mark the extent of urbanized–rural limits (as the Convent of Nossa Senhora do Carmo and Convent of the Capuchos do today to the northeast). Modern Horta grew beyond the limits of this early colonization. A secondary nucleus grew in the area of Porto Pim, and infilling occurred sporadically until a crescent formed along the banks of the east coast, only contained by Ponte de Espalamaca to the north and open ocean to the south. The cinder cones in the south likely protected settlers and ships from the north Atlantic weather systems. Horta grew slowly into the river valleys of Faial's interior, linking the parishes of Flamengos to the west and Feteira to the southwest to form an incomplete urbanized mass. The nodes of growth basically follow the road network, including the recently completed "Scute" (freeway) that bypasses the southern E.R.1-1ª road between Angustias and Feteira.


Twin towns — Sister cities

Horta is twinned with: *
New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford ( Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American ...
, United States * Fremont, California, United States *
Santa Cruz, Madeira Santa Cruz (; "Holy Cross") is a municipality, a parish and a city in the eastern part of the island of Madeira. It is the second most populous municipality, behind Funchal. The population in 2011 was 43,005, in an area of 81.50 km². History ...
, Portugal


Economy

Due to its central position in the ''Triangle'' of islands in the Azores's Central Group, Horta has been the focus of economic activity on Faial. It was the staging and export centre for many of the economic cycles of the region: the export of woad-derived dyes, oranges, whale oil, and Pico-grown Verdelho wines historically built Faial's economy. Many of the landed gentry concentrated their shops, production facilities, and homes in the city, while agricultural goods were shipped to the city before being sent on to Europe or North America. For a long time, the island of Pico was an exclave of Horta with summer homes, agricultural parcels, and herds owned by residents of Faial, until its emancipation on 8 March 1723. After the failure of the economic cycles through boom-and-bust economies (brought on by weather, plant disease, or market deviation), the city of Horta became a staging point for transatlantic shipment firstly for whaling fleets, and later for the submarine cable companies that laid communication lines between Europe and North America. These spurts of growth concentrated the population and political and economic classes within Horta, and economic activities on Faial. Horta today is polarized between the same dichotomy that existed between the hinter- and heartlands, with most primary economic activities (agricultural mostly) dispersed into the parishes, while the secondary and tertiary activities are concentrated in the three main parishes (Angústias, Conceição and Matriz). In addition, the prosperity of the early 20th century, concentrated on the transatlantic traffic, has developed into a tourist-oriented economy concentrated on the architecture, geographic, leisure, and sociocultural aspects of the island. This includes sightseeing tours and whale-watching expeditions departing from the city, the arrival of semi-weekly cruise ships during the summer, and cultural festivals that unite local residents and visitors throughout the year.


Transportation

The island is circled by the Regional E.R.1-1ª roadway which directly connects all parish centres (except Flamengos) with the city Horta. Apart from personal vehicles, a bus system provides daily access to the city from the outer parishes. The centre of most activity in the municipality is Horta's port and passenger terminal which, until 28 July 2012, was located south of the Fort of Santa Cruz in the parish of Angustias. The passenger ferries operated by Transmaçor (the ''Cruzeiro do Canal'' and ''Cruzeiro da Ilha'') provided passenger service to and from the island of Pico (Madalena), while Atlânticoline (using contracted ships) provided inter-island service to the remaining islands from the main dock across the harbour. On 28 July 2012, a new passenger ferry and dock was inaugurated across the harbour at the mouth of the ''Ribeira da Conceição'' across from the old District Courthouse. A €33 million project, the dock was started in 2009, and resulted in a long wharf, with a long by wide usable docking space containing two ramps for
roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their o ...
operation, with the express purpose of supporting passenger traffic within the ''triangle'' islands of the central Azores. A long embankment in area was also built to protect the Ribeira da Conceição. The project involved changes to the road network in the area, parking areas, pavement and green-spaces, as well as new public illumination, water supply, telecommunications, and fueling resources. In addition to these improvements, Transmaçor acquired two new ships to be brought into service by the end of 2014 in order to support the island's tourist economy. At the new wharf's inauguration, President of the Azorean Regional Government Carlos Cesar indicated the importance of inter-island traffic for the islands, which for 16 years had transported 290,000 passengers annually (and now is beyond 400,000).


In literature

The city contains the Horta Regional Museum which has a permanent exhibit, ''Exhibition of Capelinhos Volcano'', detailing in photographs the 1957 volcanic eruption in the Azores. The museum also contains a large collection of scale models of buildings, ships, and people carved from
fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
kernels by Euclides Rosa. Mark Twain visited Horta in June 1867 near the beginning of a long pleasure excursion to Jerusalem. He described his visit with acerbic commentary on the people and culture of Horta in his semi-autobiographical book '' The Innocents Abroad''. In the book Twain compliments Horta's physical appearance: :''The town has eight thousand to ten thousand inhabitants. Its snow-white houses nestle cosily in a sea of fresh green vegetation, and no village could look prettier or more attractive. It sits in the lap of an amphitheatre of hills which are three hundred to seven hundred feet high, and carefully cultivated clear to their summits - not a foot of soil left idle.'' However, Twain painted a less complimentary picture of the inhabitants of Horta and Faial at the time: :''The group on the pier was a rusty one — men and women, and boys and girls, all ragged, and barefoot, uncombed and unclean, and by instinct, education, and profession, beggars. They trooped after us, and never more, while we tarried in Fayal, did we get rid of them. We walked up the middle of the principal street, and these vermin surrounded us on all sides, and glared upon us; and every moment excited couples shot ahead of the procession to get a good look back, just as village boys do when they accompany the elephant on his advertising trip from street to street.'' :''The community is eminently Portuguese — that is to say, it is slow, poor, shiftless, sleepy, and lazy. There is a civil governor, appointed by the King of Portugal; and also a military governor, who can assume supreme control and suspend the civil government at his pleasure. ..there is one assistant superintendent to feed the mill and a general superintendent to stand by and keep him from going to sleep...There is not a wheelbarrow in the land ..There is not a modern plow in the islands, or a threshing-machine. All attempts to introduce them have failed. The good Catholic Portuguese crossed himself and prayed God to shield him from all blasphemous desire to know more than his father did before him. ..The people lie, and cheat the stranger, and are desperately ignorant, and have hardly any reverence for their dead. The latter trait shows how little better they are than the donkeys they eat and sleep with.''
Joshua Slocum Joshua Slocum (February 20, 1844 – on or shortly after November 14, 1909) was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Nova Scotian-born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he wr ...
, sailing the
sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular s ...
''Spray'', stopped in Horta on the first leg of his solo global
circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magel ...
, which he chronicled in his 1899 book ''
Sailing Alone Around the World ''Sailing Alone Around the World'' is a sailing memoir by Joshua Slocum in 1900 about his single-handed global circumnavigation aboard the sloop '' Spray''. Slocum was the first person to sail around the world alone. The book was an immediat ...
''. Jules Verne mentioned Horta in his fictional tales. In works by Portuguese writers
Vitorino Nemésio Vitorino Nemésio Mendes Pinheiro da Silva (19 December 1901, in Praia da Vitória – 20 February 1978, in Lisbon) was a Portuguese poet, author and intellectual from Terceira, Azores, best known for his novel ''Mau Tempo No Canal'', as well a ...
(''O Corsário das Ilhas'') and
Raul Brandão Raul Germano Brandão (12 March 1867, in Foz do Douro, Porto – 5 December 1930, in Lisbon) was a Portuguese writer, journalist and military officer, notable for the realism of his literary descriptions and by the lyricism of his language. ...
(''As ilhas Desconhecidas''), Faial is a focus of the story.


Notable citizens

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Manuel de Arriaga Manuel José de Arriaga Brum da Silveira e Peyrelongue (; 8 July 1840 – 5 March 1917) was a Portuguese lawyer, the first attorney-general and the first elected president of the First Portuguese Republic, following the deposition of King Man ...
(1840-1917), the first President of Portugal * Euclides Rosa (Horta, Azores; c.1910 - São Paulo, Brazil c. 1979), engineer and artist, who worked for one of the early telegraph cable companies at the turn of the century, until 1946, when he abandoned his job to become an artist.Atlantic View - Actividades Turísticas, Lda. (2003), p.65-66 Recognized as the ''Mestre do "Miolo de Figueira"'' (''Master of
Fig Tree ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending int ...
Pith'') he was acclaimed for his complex and elaborate sculptures of pith/wood, with a permanent collection in the Museum of Horta (donated in 1980).


References


Sources

* * {{Authority control Municipalities of the Azores Marinas in the Azores