Covoada is a civil parish in the municipality of

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and executive capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,2 ...

, on the island of São Miguel in the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

. The population in 2011 was 1,341, in an area of 9.03 km².Eurostat
It contains the localities Covoada, Nossa Senhora da Graça and Pavões.

History

The parochial church, Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, dates back to the construction of a chapel in the 16th century by Captain Gaspar de Medeiros the Older (its cupola was paid for by the Santa Casa de Misercórdia of Ponta Delgada). During the early settlement of São Miguel, from about 1846, this area pertained to the parish of Arrifes, passing to the territory of Relva later, until its numbers warranted the creation of a new entity. On March 2, 1958, the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Ajuda was destroyed in a violent fire; its

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum, it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate struct ...

and the image of Nossa Senhora da Ajuda were lost. In ashes of the temple, the residents were able to save a few books and documents, and an image of the Virgin Mary that was located in the

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

. This image was transferred to the Seminary of Sr. Santo Cristo, in Ponta Delgada, where it today remains. During the reconstruction of the new church, in the latter part of the 20th century, the temple received a new bell tower. The ''Livro de Tombo'' from the Church of Nossa Senhora da Ajuda indicated the necessity to provide an independent religious parish to the faith community on October 28, 1977. It was de-annexed from Relva on September 15, 1980, under Regional Decree 24/80/A.

Geography

Covoada is a slender tract of land between the parishes of Relva and Arrifes that includes prime agricultural and pasturelands, interspersed with mountainous terrains covered in partial forest and scrub-brush. It is limited to an area from

Capelas Capelas (; Portuguese language, Portuguese for ''chapels'') is a Freguesia (Portugal), civil parish along the northern coast of the Concelho, municipality of Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel Island, São Miguel in the Portugal, Portugues ...

(in the north) to Relva and Arrifes (in the southwest and southeast respectively), and includes basin of the Serra Devassa, that includes Pico do Paúl, Pico Amêndoa, Pico Rochão, Pico das Maias and the Ladeira do Ledo. The available land has allowed the development of agriculture; cattle and dairy farming are the primary industrial sectors.

References

{{authority control Parishes of Ponta Delgada