Cidade Velha

Cidade Velha
Cidade Velha - Pillory Square
Coordinates: 14°54′58″N 23°36′22″W / 14.916°N 23.606°W / 14.916; -23.606Coordinates: 14°54′58″N 23°36′22″W / 14.916°N 23.606°W / 14.916; -23.606
Country	Cape Verde
Island	Santiago
Municipality	Ribeira Grande de Santiago
Civil parish	Santíssimo Nome de Jesus
Population (2010)[1]
• Total	1,214
Postal code	7910
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: (ii), (iii), (vi) [2]
Reference	1310
Inscription	2009 (33rd Session)
[edit on Wikidata]

Cidade Velha (Portuguese for "old city", in Cape Verdean Creole: Sidadi, also as Sidadi Velha or Sidadi Bedja) is a town in the southern part of the island of Santiago, Cape Verde. It is situated on the south coast, 10 kilometres (6 miles) west of the capital Praia. A former capital of Cape Verde, it is the oldest settlement in Cape Verde. Once called Ribeira Grande, its name was changed to Cidade Velha so to avoid confusion with Ribeira Grande on Santo Antão island. It is the seat of the Ribeira Grande de Santiago municipality.

Located off Africa's northwest coast, this town was the first European colonial settlement in the tropics. Some of the meticulously planned original design of the site is still intact, including a royal fortress, two towering churches and a 16th-century town square. Today, Cidade Velha is an Atlantic shipping stop and center for Creole culture. The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.^[3]

Subdivisions

• Santo António - east
• São Roque - west
• São Sebastião - city center

History

A 1646 water colour of Cidade Velha by Caspar Schmalkalden.

Cidade Velha - Nossa Senhora do Rosário church.

Ruins of the old cathedral

After the island was discovered, the city was named Ribeira Grande (Portuguese for large river) by António da Noli, in 1462. The settlement was built in a valley inside a large stream named Ribeira Grande, vegetation is dominant. The abundance of water and resources for agriculture made it suitable. After the discovery of the Americas, the settlement became an important port for trading slaves from Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone to Brazil and the Caribbean, which made Cidade Velha the second richest city in the Portuguese realm.

Cidade Velha's port was a stopping place for two great navigators: Vasco da Gama, in 1497, on his way to India, and Christopher Columbus, in 1498, while on his third voyage to the Americas. Later in 1522, it was the stopping place for the later explorer Ferdinand Magellan who served under Spain on his way to circumnavigate the world.

Cidade Velha has the oldest colonial church in the world - Nossa Senhora do Rosário church, which was constructed in 1493 - 1495.

The location of the archipelago had a great strategic importance, located on the maritime routes with the Americas and the south of Africa. It supplied ships with water and fresh food and ship repairs. The island also served for bringing agricultural and animal species, European and African to the Pan-American continent and the Pan-American ones to Europe and Africa.

Requested by John III of Portugal to Pope Clement VII in 1532 and had a Papal bull pro excellenti in 1533, it became the seat of Africa's first diocese known as the Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde. During the Drake's raid, it was probably in Ribeira Brava. After the Cassard expedition, the seat may have moved to Ribeira Brava on the island of São Nicolau, today the seat is in Praia.

In the mid-16th century, the city had 500 buildings which were built from stone. It had other religious buildings including the church of Saint Roch (São Roque), Saint Peter's (São Pedro), Monte Alverne, Our Lady of Conception (Nossa Senhora da Conceição) and the chapel of Saint Lucy (Santa Luzia). Also located in the lower part was the church and hospital of Santa Casa de Misericórdia, in the upper part had the hospice and house of Companhia de Jesus.

The Sé Cathedral started construction in 1556 under Francisco da Cruz, the third bishop. It was a temple with large dimensions, located 25 meters above sea level, dominated the city with its presence. Its construction works were delayed, it was completed over a century later by the bishop Vitoriano Portuense in the 1693.

The fort Real de São Filipe overlooks the town. It was constructed in 1590 to defend the Portuguese colony from the attacks of the Frenchmen and English, in particular in 1585 when it was attacked and plundered by Francis Drake. However, it was sacked by French pirates as part of the Cassard expedition in 1712, much of its inhabitants including the bishop fled to the island interior. The capital was moved to Praia in 1770 as Ribeira Grande seemed dangerous to remain, the remaining population may have moved there.^[4]

In the mid 17th century, it had the convent of Saint Francis, located uphill, it laid in ruins, it is restored today and is a church.

In its earlier maps, the city were mentioned in the 1683 atlas as St. Jago, later it was mentioned both as S. Jago and Ribeira Grande in the 1747 French/Dutch map by Jacques Nicolas Bellin.^[5]

Around the early 19th century, fewer ships were docked and stationed at its port due to its high harbour fees, more ships docked and visited at Praia Harbor at the time, the least factor for the move of the colonial capital in 1770. It became the second most used and is now the leastly used main port of the island but more active than the small harbours of Rincão and Ribeira da Barca.

Its civil, religious and military buildings laid in decay and ruin. The population did not grew again until the mid-20th century as inhabitants came from the interior to reinhabit the city, new simple buildings were built. Its notable buildings were started to be restored, the fort in 1968.

In 2000, under the coordination of the architect Álvaro Siza, it begun a preparation work of a dossier for candidacy to become a UNESCO's World Heritage Site, the dossier was presented on January 31, 2008.

Cidade Velha separate from Praia in 2005 and became the municipal seat of the new Ribeira Grande de Santiago municipality.

Demography

Sites of interest

• Pelourinho, first raised in 1520
• Fort Real de São Filipe, constructed in 1590. It was a fort which was built for attacking pirates and defending the Portuguese colony from the French and the English. The elevation is at 120 m above sea level.
• Nossa Senhora do Rosário church, the oldest colonial church in the world, built in Manueline Gothic style in 1493 - 1495.

Agriculture

Still used in the northern portion of the city today, it is the most notable is that grogue grown in the plantations of the valley of Ribeira Grande de Santiago. Distillation plants are located.

Climate

Cidade Velha features an mild desert climate (Köppen: BWh ) with a short wet season and a lengthy, very pronounced dry season. Outside of the months of August, September and October, little precipitation falls on Cidade Velha.

The city on average sees about 260 millimetres (10 in) of rain per year. Despite the fact that it has an arid climate, Cidade Velha seldom gets very hot or very cold, due to its oceanside location on Santiago Island. Temperatures are warm and constant with an average high temperature of 27 °C (81 °F) and an average low temperature of 23 °C (73 °F).

In the media

Ruins of the São Filipe fort.

• In 2007, a documentary film titled Architecture of Cidade Velha (Arquitectura de Cidade Velha) was released in 2007 and was directed by Catarina Alves Costa.

Sports

The only sports club in the city is named Ribeira Grande, it is based in the city and is the municipality's club, they played in their first competition in 2005. The club was founded before the municipality was created. Its matches are played in Praia at Estádio da Várzea and northwest of the center in Calabaceira.

Gallery

• 
  Cidade Velha - House by the ocean.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cidade Velha.

Geography, features and topics of Santiago and the surrounding islets
Topics	History (Timeline) Sports Transport Culture Buildings and structures List of people
Mountains	Pico da Antónia Monte Graciosa Serra da Malagueta Monte Xexe Monte Tchota (Achada) Monte das Vacas Monte Vermelho
Streams	Ribeira das Águas Belas Ribeira das Águas Podres Ribeira da Barca Ribeira de Faveta Ribeira de Flamengos Ribeira Grande de Santiago Ribeira de Limo Ribeira Milho Ribeira do Pico Ribeira da Prata Ribeira Principal Ribeira Riba Ribeira do Salto Ribeira Seca Ribeira da Trindade Ribeirão Isabel Ribeirão Manuel
Points and promontories	Ponta Bicuda Ponta das Bicudas Ponta do Lobo Ponta Moreia Ponta do Porto (de Visconde) Ponta Preta (Santiago) Ponta Temerosa Ponta Verde
Reservoirs	Barragem de Poilão Faveta Reservoir Figueira Gordo Reservoir Salineiro Reservoir Saquinho Reservoir
Other geographic features	Baía do Inferno Baía de Tarrafal Farol de D. Maria Pia Farol da Ponta Preta Ilhéu de Santa Maria
Transportation	EN1-ST01 EN1-ST02 EN1-ST05
Media	Record Cabo Verde RTC Praia FM Ràdio Praia
History	Capture of Santiago (1585) Cassard expedition Battle of Porto Praya Rabelados Action in Tarrafal Bay 1982 Amilcar Cabral Cup 2000 Amílcar Cabral Cup
Cape Verde Barlavento Santiago