Gaula (Madeira)

Gaula
Civil Parish (Freguesia)
Coat of arms
Official name: Freguesia de Guala
Country	Portugal
Autonomous Region	Madeira
Island	Madeira
Municipality	Santa Cruz
Localities	Achada de Baixo, Achada de Cima, Achada da Rocha, Aldonça, Beatas, Contenda, Farrobo, Fazenda, Fazendinha, Fonte, Fonte do Lopo, Furtados, Lajes, Levadas, Lobas, Lombadinha, Salão, São João, Pico, Porto Novo, Povo
Highest point
- elevation	900 m (2,953 ft)
Population	3,092 (2001)
LAU	Freguesia/Junta Freguesia
President Junta	Élvio Duarte Martins Sousa (Grupo de Cidadãos Juntos Pelo Povo - JPP)
President Assembleia	Luís Filipe de Quintal Nunes (Grupo de Cidadãos Juntos Pelo Povo - JPP)
Timezone	WET (UTC0)
- summer (DST)	WEST (UTC+1)
ISO 3166-2 code	PT-
Area Code & Prefix	(+351) 291 XX XX XX
Demonym	Madeirense
Location of the civil parish seat of Guala in the municipality of Santa Cruz, island of Madeira
Wikimedia Commons: Guala
Statistics: Instituto Nacional de Estatística[1]
Website: http://www.jfgaula.pt/site/
Geographic detail from CAOP (2010)[2] produced by Instituto Geográfico Português (IGP)

Gaula is a Portuguese civil parish, in the municipality) of Santa Cruz in the archipelago of Madeira. In the 2001, the parish resident population included approximately 3092 inhabitants, and covered an area of about 7.07 square kilometres (707 ha), located 7 kilometres (7,000 m) northeast of the district capital of Funchal or 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from its nearest neighboring municipality, Machico, to the southwest.

History

Gaula's history is tied to universe of local history, popular culture, literature, traditions and customs; it was originally referred to as the terra do amadis de Gaula (Land of Amadis de Gaula), terra de adelos” (Land of the wandering salesmen), terras de doutores (Lands of the Doctors), terra de padres (Land of Priests), terra das amoras (Land of the Blackberries) and terras de malvasias (Land of the Malvasia), among others, that served to identify it from other regions of the island.

Many of these names arose of tradition and legend, when Gaulês were interrogated about the birthplace, they would respond with merry comments, such as I am from Gaula, what do you have with that, or outside the blackberry harvest, I am from Gaul for my sins. The oldest documented references referring to Gaula extend to 1509, when King Manuel I conceded this location the right to construct a small chapel to Santa Maria da Luz. Its toponymy was influenced by chivalrous romnances of the medieval era, namely, the historical romanance Amadis de Gaula from the 14th century.

During this era the lands were homes to signeurial families, such as the horseman Lançarote Teixeira de Gaula and Helena de Góis, children of Lançarote Teixeira, who was the son of Tristão Vaz Teixeira, first Captain-donatário of Machico.

The parish included the two ecclesiastical parishes: Nossa Senhora da Luz in the south, and Achada de Gaula, in the a north. From the 15th century, the region that would become known as Gaula, became inhabited by settlers from northern Portugal, Italy, France and Scotland. Gaula was elevated to the status of civil parish in 1558.

Geography

Gaula is surrounded by several streams, with land sloping to many of these tributaries (from 20° to a 30° slopes).

While farmlands and pasture dominate Gaula, the forests, some grasslands and barren lands cover the rest of the parish.

It is connected by the regional road that links most of the islands parishes to Funchal and Machico, while a shorter span links it to Camacha and Santo António da Serra.

Gaula has two schools (one public and the other a private institution), supports two churches (as well as various hermitages), while most economical and social activities are centre in the main village of Gaula.

Economy

Agriculture remains the primary industry in the area, with orchards and fruit trees planted to support the local economy.

References

Notes