Culture of Terceira Island. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

If you have come to the island, be sure to visit the oldest town not only on Terceira but on all of the Azores - Angra do Heroísmo, which the locals often simply call Angra. The settlement was founded in the middle of the 15th century, and since then many buildings of that time have been preserved on its territory and in the surrounding lands. The city of Angra itself is a UNESCO world heritage site. Queen Maria II of Portugal found the refuge here from 1830 to 1833, and she later added the second part of "do Eroismu" to the name of the city, which translates as "heroic" from Portuguese- for the help of local residents in the restoration of the monarchy.

Be sure to visit the Restoration Square (Portuguese: Praça dos Restoradores), the main city square, where fairs, executions, meetings of residents and many other important events of the city were held for five centuries. It is worth visiting the main Cathedral of the Sé city, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful local buildings. the You can see several forts on the coast not far from the settlement built here to defend against pirates, including Fort of São João Baptista and Fort of São Francisco, which are of the same age as the city buildings. Castle of Moinhos, known as the Castle of São Cristóvão is a gorgeous construction, also built in the 15th century and still well preserved.

Biscoitos is a small town, which was built in the 15th-16th centuries, also deserves your attention. There are vineyards that grow here for hundreds of years and several churches. The oldest of them dates back to the time of construction of the town. Biscoitos Wine Museum is an extremely interesting place, which exposition is dedicated to those who love this drink. Praia da Vitória is a municipality, where you can see the well-preserved building of the municipal council, built in the 70s of the 15th century. There are also several old fountains. You can visit the ruins of the Fort of the Espirito Santo near the town, built in the distant 16th century and destroyed during the Civil War of 1828-1834. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

São Mateus da Calheta is rich with a large number of old buildings. Initially, it was an unremarkable fishing village, but there were started active construction of fortifications due to the threat of pirate raids and the invasion of the Spaniards in 1580 in the surrounding areas. Fort Grande, Fort of the Terreiro, Fort of Negrito, Fort of the Maré, Fort of Má Ferramenta and Fort of São João were completed in the 16th century, as well as the well-preserved Fort da Igreja. Another part of the fortifications in this area was built on the eve of World War II. The main town church is also interesting. Its building is nor remarkable, but, nevertheless, this modest building stands in its place since 1557 in an unchanged form. It is noteworthy that the Old Church, destroyed by a hurricane in the late 19th century, was much younger than the main Cathedral – its construction was completed in 1700.

Terra Chã was the scene of partisan battles during the Portuguese Civil War in 1823-1834, colonial wars and World War II. The local campus of Angra was a military hospital for most of the 20th century, where were treated employees of the expeditionary military forces of Portugal, England and the United States during the World War II and soldiers who returned from Africa during the colonial wars. There are mansions where the Portuguese aristocrats – Solar dos Corvelo, Quinta de Nossa Senhora do Rosário and Quinta da Boa Hora stayed. The estates of these landlords were made up of a house, large yards with manicured gardens, orchards, vineyards, pastures and water fountains. There are sacral buildings of 17-19 centuries, including the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Boa Hora – constructed in the 17th century, the Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Rosário and Império do Espírito Santo do Terreiro, where people honour the Holy Spirit.

Altares is famous for its Church of São Roque, built in 1480. The church is located on an elevated terrain occupied along with the parochial school, Museu Etnográfico dos Altares, with an important collection of instruments associated with agriculture and traditional Azorean activities. Moreover, the museum has a collection of samples of local flora and fauna. Império of the Holy Spirit of Altares is dating to the early 20th century. It is used for celebrations of the festivals associated with the Cult of the Holy Spirit held annually by the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit.