| Santa Cruz | |||
| Municipality (Concelho) | |||
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Houses in Santa Cruz, with the arcades of the International Airport in the distance
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| Official name: Concelho de Santa Cruz da Madeira | |||
| Name origin: santa cruz, Portuguese for holy cross; literally Holy Cross of Madeira | |||
| Country | Portugal | ||
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| Autonomous Region | Madeira | ||
| Island | Madeira | ||
| Municipality | Santa Cruz da Madeira | ||
| Civil Parishes | Camacha, Caniço, Gaula, Santa Cruz, Santo António da Serra | ||
| Center | Santa Cruz | ||
| - elevation | 32 m (105 ft) | ||
| - coordinates | |||
| Lowest point | Sea level | ||
| - location | Atlantic Ocean | ||
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | ||
| Area | 81.52 km2 (31 sq mi) | ||
| Population | 29,721 (2001) | ||
| Density | 354.59 / km2 (918 / sq mi) | ||
| City | 2 August 1996 | ||
| LAU | Concelho/Câmara Municipal | ||
| - location | Praça Dr. João Abel de Freitas, Santa Cruz, Madeira | ||
| President | José Alberto de Freitas Gonçalves (PSD) | ||
| Municipal Chair | João Pedro Barreto de Sousa (PSD) | ||
| Timezone | WET (UTC0) | ||
| - summer (DST) | WEST (UTC+1) | ||
| ISO 3166-2 code | PT- | ||
| Postal Zone | 9100-157 Santa Cruz | ||
| Area Code & Prefix | (+351) 291 XXX-XXXX | ||
| Demonym | Madeirense; Santa-cruzenses | ||
| Patron Saint | São Salvador & Santa Cruz | ||
| Municipal Address | Praça Dr. João Abel de Freitas 9100-157 Santa Cruz |
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| Municipal Holidays | 15 January | ||
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Administrative location of Santa Cruz in the archipelago of Madeira
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| Wikimedia Commons: Santa Cruz (Madeira) | |||
| Website: http://www.cm-santacruz.pt | |||
Santa Cruz (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈsɐ̃tɐ ˈkɾuʃ], "Holy Cross") is a municipality, a parish and a city in the eastern part of the island of Madeira. Much of the municipality is mountainous and apart from residential areas, farmlands and orchards cover the remainder of the land. It is the third largest municipality, behind Funchal and Câmara de Lobos; its municipal population is 29,721 (2001 census), in an area of about 81.52 km² (its densisty is 354.59 inhabitants per km²; equivalent to the second most dense on the island.
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"...passing a turn in the land, they entered a cover in the beach, in which they saw a deliteful valley covered in the trees in order, where they found on land a few older fallen columns, from whom the captain ordered the construction a cross, which they raised to the heights of a tree, giving the place the name of Santa Cruz, where later that founded the noble village."[1]
To commemorate the construction of this cross, a second cross was raised, of marble, but was later destroyed, around 1889.
It is located southeast of Santana, southwest of Machico and northeast of the regional capital (Funchal); it is linked by an expressway to Funchal and Machico, as well as an ancillary road linking it to Santana. Urban sprawl from Funchal extends along Santa Cruz's western frontier, while the eastern part of municipality is the base for Madeira's international airpoty.
Santa Cruz has a few schools, a few lyceums, a gymnasium, banks, a post office, a small port, beaches and squares or plazas (praças).
Five parishes comprise the municipality of Santa Cruz:
Agriculture and fishing are still considered the primary industries in this region, although widespread expansion of tourism in the south, and the development of the international airport has increased the number of commercial and tourist-related activities (primarily in the city of Santa Cruz).
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