Santo António (Portuguese for Saint Anthony), also known as Santo António do Príncipe, is the main settlement of the island of

Príncipe Príncipe (; ) is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Cens ...

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

. It lies on the north east coast. It is the capital of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe. Its population is 2,620 (2012), about 35% of the island's population.São Tomé and Príncipe
www.citypopulation.de The town is known for its

colonial architecture Colonial architecture is a hybrid architectural style that arose as colonists combined architectural styles from their country of origin with design characteristics of the settled country. Colonists frequently built houses and buildings in a sty ...

and for its churches: Church of Our Lady of the Conception and Church of Our Lady of the Rosary.Santo António
Heritage of Portuguese Influence The town is also known for the ''Auto das Floripes'' play, which is performed by the citizens.

History

The town Santo António was founded in 1502, and was a centre of sugarcane cultivation. In 1695, the Fort of Ponta da Mina was built at the entrance of the bay of Santo António. The town and the fortress were destroyed by French

privateers A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

in 1706. From 1753 until 1852, it was the colonial capital of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe.

Climate

Santo António has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

, with very warm to hot temperatures and oppressive humidity year-round. The average temperature is . The average annual rainfall is , with the least rain in July and the most in October.

Transportation

Príncipe Airport Príncipe Airport is an airport on the island of Príncipe, located north of Santo António, the island's capital. It is the only airport on Príncipe and one of the three airports serving São Tomé and Príncipe. It was built in 1968 during P ...

lies 3 km north of the town. It offers flights to São Tomé International Airport on STP Airways and Africa's Connection STP.

Sports

The town has the only sports facility on the island, Estádio Regional 13 de Junho. The facility is home to the football clubs Sporting Clube do Príncipe and GD Os Operários.Estádio Regional 13 De Junho
zerozero.pt

Twin towns

Santo António is twinned with the Portuguese cities of AveiroGeminações de Cidades e Vilas
/ref> and Faro.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santo Antonio Populated places in the Autonomous Region of Príncipe District capitals of São Tomé and Príncipe Populated places established in 1502 1502 establishments in Africa