Ribeira Grande is a ''

concelho Concelho () is the Portuguese-language term for municipality, referring to the territorial subdivision in local government. In comparison, the word ''município'' () refers to the organs of State. This differentiation is still in use in Portugal ...

'' (municipality) of

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

. Situated in the northern part of the island of Santo Antão, it covers one fifth of the island area (166.5 km²), and is home to nearly half of its population (18,890 at the 2010 census).2010 Census Summary
/ref> Its seat is the city Ponta do Sol.

Subdivisions

The municipality consists of four '' freguesias'' (civil parishes): * Nossa Senhora do Rosário * Nossa Senhora do Livramento * Santo Crucifixo * São Pedro Apóstolo

Demography

Geography

The municipality has a rugged landscape, stretching from the mountains in the interior of the island to the north coast. It has several deep river valleys, including those of Ribeira da Garça,

Ribeira Grande Ribeira Grande may refer to the following places: Cape Verde * Ribeira Grande (stream), a stream on the island of Santo Antão * Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde, a town on the island of Santo Antão * Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde (municipality), a municip ...

and Ribeira da Torre. It borders the municipality Paul to the east and Porto Novo to the south. The protected areas Cova-Paul-Ribeira da Torre Natural Park, Moroços and Cruzinha lie (partly) within the municipality..

History

In 1732 the Municipality of Santo Antão was created, with its seat in the town Ribeira Grande. In 1867 this was divided into the municipality of Paul (covering the area of current Paul and Porto Novo) and the municipality of Ribeira Grande. These were merged in 1895 into one municipality. The municipalities of Paul and Ribeira Grande were recreated in 1917.Inventário dos recursos turísticos do município do Paúl
Direcção Geral do Turismo, p. 16

Politics

Since 2008, the Movement for Democracy (MpD) is the ruling party of the municipality. Its current president is Orlando Delgado (MpD). The results of the latest elections, in 2016:Official results local elections 2016
''Boletim Oficial I Série, Número 53'', 23 September 2016

Persons

* António do Espírito Santo Fonseca, president of the National Assembly from 1996 to 2001 * Gabriel Mariano, Capeverdean essayist, novelist & poet * Manuel de Novas, Capeverdean poet

Twin towns

* Torres Novas, Portugal * Ponta do Sol, Madeira Islands

References

External links

Official website

ANMCV (Associação Nacional dos Municípios Cabo-Verdianos - National Association of the Capeverdean Municipalities)