Praia (officially São Mateus) is a
Portuguese civil parish in the municipality of
Santa Cruz da Graciosa, on the island of
Graciosa, 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 ...
. It still retains its former name ''Praia'' locally, owing to the parish having once been the historical municipality of Praia. The population in 2011 was 836, in an area of 12.82 km².
Eurostat
/ref>
History
São Mateus was one of the first Captaincies of the Azores, and administered by its Captain-Donatorio, Duarte Barreto.[ During this time, the settlers of the island formed historical, social and economic contacts with the peoples and economy of Terceira, in addition to those ships travelling between Europe and Brazil.
In the 16th century it had become a rich parish, and competed with Santa Cruz.][ In 1890, there were over 1783 inhabitants, but it had already begun a slow decline. Part of the population emigrated to the United States or Canada, while the remaining population relied primarily on a subsistence lifestyle for local consumption.][
]
Geography
Within an area of less than 13 kilometres square, the parish includes various individual rural localities, including Vila da Praia, Fenais, Fonte do Mato, Lagoa, Pedras Brancas and Feteira.[
The parish occupies the extreme southeast, along a long valley which separates the Caldeira ]massif
A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
from the rest of the island. To the interior the volcanic crater, simply the ''Calderia'' (caldera), is the largest volcanic structure on the island. Within its crater, is the ''Furna do Enxofre'', a large cavern and subterranean lake bio-system popular with tourists. Located directly opposite the village is the Praia Islet, an important natural reserve, classified as a "Zone of Special Protection", due to the abundant marine bird species that use it for nesting and as transitory stop in annual migrations.
The population is aging in this community, and is shifting into a bedroom community of the much larger Santa Cruz.[
]
Economy
In addition to agriculture, a staple of the fertile lands of the Azores, Praia has been known for being an important fishing community and supplier for the economy of Graciosa. In addition to fish, fisherman have collected and dried algae (''Sargassum
''Sargassum'' is a genus of brown macroalgae ( seaweed) in the order Fucales of the Phaeophyceae class. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and ...
'') as fertilizer.[ Similarly, Graciosense were producers of tile, for the regional market, resulting in periods of boom.
Other complementary activities, in addition to the small garages and mechanical shops, the parish is a center of civil construction and bread makers, and has an outpost of the fiscal auditors, customs, post office and bank.][
]
References
External links
{{authority control
Freguesias of Santa Cruz da Graciosa