Praia (officially São Mateus) is a

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 ...

civil parish in the municipality of

Santa Cruz da Graciosa Santa Cruz da Graciosa () is a Portuguese municipality on the island of Graciosa, in the archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 4,391, in an area of 60.66 km². It includes four local parishes and one municipal government struc ...

, on the island of

Graciosa Graciosa Island () (literally "graceful" or "enchanting" in Portuguese) is referred to as the ''White Island'', the northernmost of the Central Group of islands in the Azores. The ovular Portuguese island has an area of , a length of and a width ...

, in 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 ...

. It still retains its former name ''Praia'' locally, owing to the parish having once been the historical municipality of Praia. The population in 2011 was 836, in an area of 12.82 km².Eurostat
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History

São Mateus was one of the first Captaincies of the Azores, and administered by its Captain-Donatorio, Duarte Barreto. The main centre and parish seat obtained the category, and elevated to the title, of ''vila'' (or town) during the reign of King John III, by royal charter on 1 April 1546. It operated as the municipal seat until 1867, when its role was superseded by the much larger

. Yet, it still retained the honorific title of ''vila''. During this time, the settlers of the island formed historical, social and economic contacts with the peoples and economy of Terceira, in addition to those ships travelling between Europe and Brazil. In the 16th century it had become a rich parish, and competed with Santa Cruz. In 1890, there were over 1783 inhabitants, but it had already begun a slow decline. Part of the population emigrated to the United States or Canada, while the remaining population relied primarily on a subsistence lifestyle for local consumption.

Geography

Within an area of less than 13 kilometres square, the parish includes various individual rural localities, including Vila da Praia, Fenais, Fonte do Mato, Lagoa, Pedras Brancas and Feteira. The parish occupies the extreme southeast, along a long valley which separates the Caldeira

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

from the rest of the island. To the interior the volcanic crater, simply the ''Calderia'' (caldera), is the largest volcanic structure on the island. Within its crater, is the ''Furna do Enxofre'', a large cavern and subterranean lake bio-system popular with tourists. Located directly opposite the village is the Praia Islet, an important natural reserve, classified as a "Zone of Special Protection", due to the abundant marine bird species that use it for nesting and as transitory stop in annual migrations. The population is aging in this community, and is shifting into a bedroom community of the much larger Santa Cruz.

Economy

In addition to agriculture, a staple of the fertile lands of the Azores, Praia has been known for being an important fishing community and supplier for the economy of Graciosa. In addition to fish, fisherman have collected and dried algae (''

Sargassum ''Sargassum'' is a genus of brown (class Phaeophyceae) macroalgae (seaweed) in the order Fucales. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral re ...

'') as fertilizer. Similarly, Graciosense were producers of tile, for the regional market, resulting in periods of boom. Other complementary activities, in addition to the small garages and mechanical shops, the parish is a center of civil construction and bread makers, and has an outpost of the fiscal auditors, customs, post office and bank.

References

External links

{{authority control Freguesias of Santa Cruz da Graciosa