| Nossa Senhora do Rosário | ||
| Civil Parish (Freguesia) | ||
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Municipal swimming pools, showing the Porto dos Carneiros and urbanized core of the civil parish of Nossa Senhora dos Rosário
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| Official name: Freguesia da Nossa Senhora do Rosário | ||
| Name origin: Portuguese for Our Lady of the Rosary | ||
| Country | Portugal | |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous Region | Azores | |
| Group | Central | |
| Island | São Miguel | |
| Municipality | Lagoa | |
| Localities | Atalhada, Bairro das Socas, Nossa Senhora do Rosário, Porto dos Carneiros, Vila Mar | |
| Center | Nossa Senhora | |
| - elevation | 49 m (161 ft) | |
| - coordinates | ||
| Highest point | Portas Vermelhas | |
| - location | Fogo, Nossa Senhora do Rosário, Lagoa | |
| - elevation | 193.5 m (635 ft) | |
| - coordinates | ||
| Lowest point | Sea level | |
| - location | Atlantic Ocean | |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | |
| Length | 3.86 km (2 mi), Southwest-Northeast | |
| Width | 3.36 km (2 mi), North-South | |
| Area | 6.49 km2 (3 sq mi) | |
| - land | 4.73 km2 (2 sq mi) | |
| - urban | 1.37 km2 (1 sq mi) | |
| Population | 5,401 (2001) | |
| Density | 832.20 / km2 (2,155 / sq mi) | |
| Settlement | c. 1444 | |
| - Parish | 22 April 1522 | |
| LAU | Freguesia/Junta Freguesia | |
| - location | Rua Dr. José Pereira Botelho, Lagoa | |
| - elevation | 25 m (82 ft) | |
| - coordinates | ||
| President Junta | Durval Carlos S. Faria | |
| President Assembleia | Maria da Encarnação Matos Cabral Almeida Duarte | |
| Timezone | Azores (UTC-1) | |
| - summer (DST) | Azores (UTC0) | |
| ISO 3166-2 code | PT- | |
| Postal Zone | 9560-097 Nossa Senhora do Rosário | |
| Area Code & Prefix | (+351) 292 XXX-XXXX | |
| Demonym | Micalense; Lagoense | |
| Patron Saint | Nossa Senhora do Rosário | |
| Parish Address | Rua Dr. José Pereira Botelho, 45 9560-097 Nossa Senhora do Rosário |
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| Wikimedia Commons: Nossa Senhora do Rosário (Lagoa) | ||
| Website: http://www.juntarosario.org/ | ||
| Statistics from INE (2001); geographic detail from Instituto Geográfico Português (2010) | ||
Nossa Senhora do Rosário is a civil parish in the municipality of Lagoa, and represents the largest populated area of this Portuguese concelho. The population in 2001 was 5401, its density is 832.2/km² and the area is 6.49 km². It is the largest and the most populated parish in Lagoa.
Rosário was originally pertained to the neighboring parish of Santa Cruz, but quickly its population and socio-political importance grew, requiring an administrative solution. Local historians suggest that may have been one of the first villas to be settled on the island of São Miguel, although there is little record to support this assertion. The settlement was elevated to the status of vila on April 22, 1522, under the religious parish of Santa Cruz; half a decade later, the continued growth of the settlement necessitated the establishment of a secondary faith community concentrated on the parochial church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, thus justifying its creation on April 5, 1595.
In his public work Memorial da Lagoa e do seu Concelho ("Memory of Lagoa and its Municipality"), Carreiro da Costa wrote: "There is a decree that is known by the studious, and it is a valuable document about the beginning of settlement in our islands. It is a decree during the age of minority of that monarch (Afonso V), dated 2 od July 1439, where the Infante D. Henrique is authorized to send to the first seven islands of the Azores, at the time discovered, the first families, when years before there were scattered some head of cattle." It was this note, that the coastal areas of São Miguel that justified the assertion that the area in which the present villa is located pertained to the first settlers in the Azores. These first settlers encountered prodigious herds of sheep and goats, and in particular rams when they arrived in the bay of Lagoa. Consequently, the cove was named Porto dos Carneiros ("carneiros" meaning "rams" in Portuguese).
In the middle of the 15th Century, there existed in this settlement four religious temples, one of which was Nossa Senhora do Rosário. This church was expanded progressively, as the community grew, and between 1583-1586, it began to serve as the villas central church, while the Church of Santa Cruz was being remodeled. Nossa Senhora do Rosário was constructed over an older chapel of the same name that had existed since the 16th Century. The 17th Century church, in larger dimensions, has three naves and notable group of sculptures by the artist Machado de Castro.
The municipal council of Lagoa promoted a ceremony to honour the diverse personalities from the parish to mark the 417 anniversary of the elevation of the community to civil parish status.[1]
Rosário is an industrial center in the region, the location of several large and artisanal businesses that produce oils, animal feed, soap, services that include carpentry, metallurgy, saw mills, as well as the sale of alcohol, ceramics, paints. Further, the agricultural production of milk and milk products (specifically cheese and butter), commercial fishery and hotel service sectors are also important in the area.