Espargos (

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 "

asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus '' Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

") is the capital and main commercial centre of the island and municipality of

Sal Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

. The cityCabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015
Instituto Nacional de Estatística, p. 32-33 is situated in the heart of the island.

Geography

The highest point of Espargos is

Monte Curral Monte Curral is a hill in the city of Espargos, on the island of Sal, Cape Verde. Its elevation is 109 meters. On the summit there is an air control tower for the nearby Amílcar Cabral International Airport, as well as several telecommunication m ...

, elevation 109 meters, where the radar station and the control tower for the airport are located. The

Amílcar Cabral International Airport Amílcar Cabral International Airport , also known as Sal International Airport, is the main international airport of Cape Verde. The airport is named after the revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral. It is located two km west-southwest from Espa ...

is situated directly southwest of the city centre. The head offices of

Cabo Verde Express Cabo Verde Express is a Cape Verdean regional airline headquartered in Espargos and based at Amílcar Cabral International Airport operating domestic scheduled and charter services. History It was established in 1998 by Jean-Christophe Bartz, a ...

are located at the airport. The national road

EN1-SL01 EN1-SL01 is a first class national road on the island of Sal, Cape Verde. It runs from Espargos to Santa Maria.

, a dual carriageway, connects Espargos with Santa Maria in the south of the island. Other national roads connect it with

Pedra de Lume Pedra de Lume is a village in the northeastern part of the island of Sal, Cape Verde. The village is situated on the east coast, about 5 km east of the island capital Espargos. It has a small port and a lighthouse, Farol de Pedra de Lume. Sa ...

and Palmeira. For statistical purposes, the city of Espargos is divided into 24 localities (''lugares''). The most populous of these are: África 70, Bairro Novo I, Bairro Novo II (Ribeira d'Hoz), Chã de Matias, Chã de Fraqueza, Hortelã de Baixo, Hortelã de Cima, Preguiça and Ribeira Funda.

History

The development of Espargos started with the construction of the airport in 1939. The Italian Government of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

was granted authorization by the Portuguese colonial government to begin construction of a transit airport to service its flights between

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. As a consequence of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the Italian involvement in the airport project ceased. In 1945 the Portuguese purchased the airport installation from the Italians and by 1949 the airport was a fully operational facility. Small houses were erected in several areas immediately adjacent to the airport. Workers from the island Sao Nicolau named the civilian area "Preguiça" after the port village on their home island. In 2010, Espargos was elevated from a town to a city.

Demographics

References

External links

* {{Sal Cities in Cape Verde Municipal seats in Cape Verde Geography of Sal, Cape Verde

Geography

History

Demographics

See also

References

External links