Rosais (literally, archaic

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 ...

for "

rosaries The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

") is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Velas in the

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 ...

. The population in 2011 was 743, in an area of 24.23 km².Eurostat
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History

Although Rosais was first mentioned in written documents in 1568, it existed as a settlement before then. It was considered the "

granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animal ...

" or "breadbasket" of São Jorge, due to the area's fertility. To this day the area supports rich

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

Geography

The parish of Rosais is located on the island of São Jorge and extends approximately from Figueiras to Ponta dos Rosais. The parish had approximately 820 inhabitants according to the 2001 census. It contains the localities Arrifana, Canada da Trás, Canada das Faias, Fajã de João Dias, Quarteiro, and Rosais. The western corner of the island is essentially a plateau, with tall cliffs extending until the Ponta dos Rosais, where the Ponta dos Rosais Lighthouse stands as a beacon. The rest of the parish consists mostly of pastures, although it also contains the wooded area ''Parque Florestal das Sete Fontes'' (Forest Park of the Seven Springs). Sete Fontes contains green spaces and animal pens and hosts an annual festival honoring the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

emigrants who first settled São Jorge and the Azores. Although many of the cliffs are sheer drops, there are volcanic debris fields along the coast that give rise to São Jorge's ''

fajã () is a Portuguese term of obscure origin used to describe supratidal talus at the foot of coastal cliffs, caused by landslides or lava flows.G. Lameiras et al. (2009), p.827 Although relatively common world-wide, they are distinctive features ...

s''. Of particular note is Fajã de João Dias, a small enclave of buildings where many of the early settlers established homes, located five minutes by foot from the cliff tops.

References

{{authority control Freguesias of Velas