Urzelina is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Velas Velas may refer to: Places * Velas, Azores, Portugal * Velas, Maharashtra, India * Cabo Velas, Costa Rica People * Sara Velas, American artist {{dab, geo, surname ...

in the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

islands of 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 902, in an area of 13.69 km². It is situated near the south coast of the island of São Jorge. It is alternately known as São Mateus, to which the parish was named after its patron saint.

History

The first settlers reached this coast in the 15th century, but were isolated from Faial. Many of the early homes were built along the coast, on lowlands and flanks of the interior mountain range, interspersed in the forests. The parish received its name owing to the abundance of ''urzela'' (

Roccella tinctoria ''Roccella tinctoria'' is a lichenised species of fungus in the genus '' Roccella'', homotypic synonym of ''Lecanora tinctoria'' (DC.) Czerwiak., 1849. It was first described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1805. It has the following varieti ...

) found by the first explorers and settlers, along its coastal clifftops and which later became a source of an export market, because it was used in dying. Urzela, a species of fungus, was harvested and exported to Flanders and England in the early 15th-16th centuries, thereby supporting the economies of the island, in addition to many of the islands of the Azores. Urzelina was once a place within the parish of Manadas and elevated to parish around 1647. At the time, a decision was made to construct a port, in order to support and enhance its transitory exchange between the island and continental Portugal. It was important for the epoch, since it was one of the first ports constructed on the island at the time. The history of Urzelina has been shaped by the events of 1 May 1808, when a volcanic eruption destroyed a great part of the settlement, and caused fear and panic in its populous.Guida das Velas (2009-2010), p.10/11 It also resulted in the destruction of most of the arable lands, and plunged the island into a period of famine. Lava reached as far as the local parochial church, which was inundated with basaltic flows and brought into ruin. The bell-tower and belfry are the only remnants of the event.

Geography

Urzelina is located from the town of

Velas Velas may refer to: Places * Velas, Azores, Portugal * Velas, Maharashtra, India * Cabo Velas, Costa Rica People * Sara Velas, American artist {{dab, geo, surname ...

, and its centre from the islands

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

. It contains the localities Canada da Bica, Canada da Feteira, Casteletes, Canada do Cruzeiro, Canada do Leitão, Maratecas, Ponta das Casteletes and Ronqueiro.

Economy

The region is primarily associated with agricultural activities, that include orchards, vineyards and the raising of dairy or meat cattle.

Architecture

* Church of São Mateus ()

References

;Notes ;Source * {{authority control Freguesias of Velas