Povoação is a Portuguese village in the south of the island of São Miguel and the seat of the Municipality of Povoação, which has about 6,327 inhabitants (according to the 2011 census), having been elevated to a municipality in 1839. This municipality is divided into 6 parishes: Furnas, Ribeira Quente, Vila da Povoação, Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, Água Retorta and Faial da Terra. The village of Povoação is well known for its 7 Lombas: Lombas do Cavaleiro, Carro, Botão, Pomar, Pós, Alcaide and Loução.
Povoação is a municipality that has an important story to tell, as it was here that the first settlers of the island of São Miguel landed, Gonçalo Velho Cabral and his crew, in 1444, which would become the donatory captain of the islands of São Miguel and Santa Maria and responsible for the settlement of these islands. We can say that the history of the island of São Miguel begins in Povoação.
Since its settlement until the 20th century, the economic wealth of Povoação has been centred on cereal cultivation, more precisely corn and wheat, thus being considered Povoação the “Barn of the Earth”. Currently, there exists in Lomba do Alcaide, the Wheat Museum that was built around 1854, functioning during some time as a mill with the due purpose of serving the population of the councils of Povoação and Nordeste.
Amongst the festivities and events that take place in Povoação, the most important are the festivities in honour of the patron saint, Our Lady of the Mother of God, which are celebrated on the first weekend of September, the Feast of the Body of God and the Feast of the Holy Spirit.
Regarding the architectural value present in Povoação, the current Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, next to Pelames beach is one of the oldest in the island, known as Matriz Velha da Povoação, since the current Matriz is the Church of Nossa Senhora da Mãe de Deus, built in the sixteenth century, primarily as a curate. Two characteristic architectural elements of the history of Povoação and the island of São Miguel is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, located in the Municipal Garden of Povoação, which was built to mark the date that at the time was taken as official the discovery of the Azores, “1432”, however a later historical analysis came to question this date, coming to be replaced by 1427. Another important monument is the Portas do Descobrimento (Discovery Gates), inaugurated in 2005, which represent the place where the first settlers of the island of São Miguel docked.
Last modified: 8 de February, 2022
