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Pico

Lost in the wake of a boat or guided by a whale, we reach the large, tall slope of an insurmountable natural landmark. Climb, descend, enter, explore everything and surpass all expectations.

Places to Visit

Pico Mountain

Photo by Município da Madalena

Active volcano, with steep slopes and 2351m high, it is the highest point in Portugal. It is possible to go up the mountain and this is a unique experience for the adventure and incredible landscape. For the biological natural heritage it holds, it was classified as a Place of Community Interest of the Natura 2000 Network.

"Gruta das Torres"

Photo by Município da Madalena

This is the largest known lava tube in Portugal, with 5150m, and it has a high geological and ecological interest. With an interpretation centre, part of the cave can be visited together with a specialized guide. Due to its importance as a natural patrimony, this cave was classified as a Regional Natural Monument.

Wine Museum

Photo by Município da Madalena

Installed in the Carnelitas Conventual House, a construction from the 17th and 18th centuries, the Wine Museum is composed of two buildings. The first building is two-storied, with the upper one for housing and the lower one used as cellar. The second one is where the alembic is located. There is also a forest of dragon trees and a viewpoint from where it is possible to observe the vineyards. In this museum vineyard cultivation and wine production in Pico island are represented.

Pico Island Vineyards Landscape

Photo by Município de São Roque

Extensive area with a notable pattern of linear walls perpendicular and parallel to the coastline. The walls were built by hand with volcanic stone to protect the thousands of small contiguous rectangular parcels (currais) from the wind and the seawater in order to be possible to plant vineyards. Place classified by UNESCO as World Heritage.

Museum Centre of the Lajido of Santa Luzia

Photo by Município de São Roque

The Museum Centre of the Lajido (lava stone slabs) of Santa Luzia gives testimony to the cultivation of the vineyard and the production of wine and aguardente (brandy), one of the largest sources of economic wealth in the Municipality. It shows the success of the exploration of these volcanic soils at the end of the fifteenth century. The museum Centre has a valuable collection. It includes an interpretive centre for the vineyards landscape and wine; a warehouse that was used to store fermenting fruit (grapes and figs) that was later used to make brandy, and where farm implements and tools are on exposition like a distiller used for the fig brandy and the wine or a typical regional winery.

Pico Island Vineyards Landscape

Photo by Município da Madalena

Extensive area with a notable pattern of linear walls perpendicular and parallel to the coastline. The walls were built by hand with volcanic stone to protect the thousands of small contiguous rectangular parcels (currais) from the wind and the seawater in order to be possible to plant vineyards. Place classified by UNESCO as World Heritage.

Special Protection Area of the Furnas (Caverns) de Santo António

Photo by Município de São Roque

The Furnas (Caverns) de Santo António fit in a area classified as Special Protection Area next to the coastline, consists of a rocky cliff and by islets, basaltic formations, where some sea birds do their nests, like Cagarro (Calonectris diomedea borealis), Garajau – Rosado (Sterna dougalii) and Garajau – Comum (Sterna hirundo), with a big ecologic interest. The endemic bat of the Azores (Nyctalus azoreum) can also be found here.

Parque Florestal da Prainha do Norte (Forestry Park)

Photo by Município da Madalena

The Forestry Park has many points of interest for visitors including a nice view of the Baía de Canas and São Jorge Island.
It spans an area of 11.97 hectares and is about 2,068 metres long. The park has large wooded areas essentially made up of Maritime Pines (Pinus pinaster), Faya (Myrica faya), and Sweet Pittosporums (Pittosporum undulatum). There is also a botanical area where there are several examples of vegetation that is endemic to the Azores, including Erica azorica, Picconia azorica, Frangula azorica and Azores Laurel (Laurus azorica).
Within the park are two buildings with an important historical and heritage value. They are a house and winery typical of Pico and have on exposition valuable and significant objects related to the Azorean art of living.
Distributed throughout the park there are recreational areas for picnics, a playground, a campground and a multi-sport field.

Diocesan Sanctuary of the Bom Jesus

Photo by Município da Madalena

Principal structure divided into three naves, with two series arches. The presbytery is dedicated to the Holy Sacrament and Saint Mathew. The front has two bell towers.

São Pedro de Alcântara Convent

Photo by Município de São Roque

The São Pedro de Alcântara Convent is testimony to the religious heritage that was built in the Municipality of São Roque do Pico. It is now a Pousada da Juventude in Pico and has a beautiful view of the town lying over the ocean.
It was built in the eighteenth century and shows the great effort of the local population and the Franciscan friars. The Franciscan friars were sent here after the volcanic eruptions of the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries to help the population rebuild and remake all that they had lost and believe in the hope of life on this island of “Mistérios” ("Mysteries").
The present Church and the Franciscan Convent are an example of Baroque architecture, with a bell tower and arches. In the interior there are valuable gilded carved wood pieces, tiles painted with historical scenes in the main chapel and an imposing ark of jacaranda wood in the sacristy.

Lagoa do Capitão (Captain's Lake)

Photo by Município da Madalena

The Lagoa do Capitão is located in the parish of Ribeirinha in the municipality of Lajes do Pico.
This lake is the largest on Pico Island and is located at a medium altitude, around 826 metres. It is surrounded by an area of abundant vegetation endemic to the Macaronesian region and rich in several species especially Erica azorica, Azores juniper, Azores Laurel and Persea indica.

Whaling Town (Lajes do Pico)

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

The town of Lajes do Pico has an extensive collection of whaling artefacts; it is the largest collection of whaling heritage in the Azores and serves both as a testimony of the past and a stimulant for the future. In the vast cultural wealth in Lajes do Pico, the Museu dos Baleeiros (Whaler's Museum) and the old whaling SIBIL factory, which is now the Centro de Artes e de Ciências do Mar (Centre for Ocean Art and Science), stand out as two symbols of the municipality. The Whaling Monument, the trypot, the whaling boats, the boathouses, the wooden towers of some of the buildings, and the scrimshaw, handmade carvings on whalebone or tooth, are all attractions that should not be missed by the visitor. Whale and dolphin watching and the whaling boat regattas are extensions of this culture. The religious aspects and the festivals such as Whalers' Week in Honour of Senhora of Lourdes (Lady of Lourdes) are a hallmark of the whaling town.

Centro de Artes e de Ciências do Mar (Centre for Ocean Arts and Science)

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

The Centre is in the old whaling factory SIBIL, which from the beginning of the 1950s was used to extract oil and flour from the whales. The facility was closed in the beginning of the 1980s and completely restored in 2007 by the Municipality of Lajes do Pico.
Nowadays, as Centro de Artes e de Ciências do Mar (Centre for Ocean Arts and Science), it has a museum area with exhibits of the whaling industry, in the form of machinery and multimedia exhibits. Gigantes do Mar (Giants of the Sea) is a permanent multimedia exhibit about the biology and ecology of these large cetaceans.

Forte de Santa Catarina (Saint Catherine's Fort)

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

The Forte de Santa Catarina (Saint Catherine's Fort) is a magnificent example of eighteenth century military architecture. The Fort was restored and inaugurated in 2006. The Fort, with its belvedere, is a privileged spot to enjoy the immense ocean view.

Igreja da Santíssima Trindade (Holy Trinity Mother Church)

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

The Igreja da Santíssima Trindade (Holy Trinity Mother Church) has three naves, with a rectangular floor plan. The church has a sacristy, a chapel and a baptistery on the gospel (left) side and a storage room, another chapel and access to the choir on the lectern (right) side. The central nave is separated from the side naves by square sectional columns that are united by ogee arches with a stone face. The main façade is made up of a centre area and two bell towers with a rectangular structure. It has large open spaces, windows, doors, and bell tower openings crowned with ogee arches.

The centre area is crowned by a pediment topped with a stone cross and in the middle of the pediment is a clock. The bell towers are topped with pyramidal spires and with pinnacles on the corners. The entire building is made of plastered and whitewashed stone masonry, with the exception of the corners, the frames of the open spaces, the pilasters, the cornice, the pediment, and the pinnacles that are stone face. The gable roof is covered with cement tiles.

The initial construction is from the nineteenth century and took the place of the older temple that was in ruins. The church was reconstructed during the second half of the twentieth century.

Ermida de São Pedro (Saint Peter's Chapel)

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

This was the first chapel that was built when Pico Island was settled in the fifteenth century. A memorial stone on the façade has the inscription “IGREJA DE S. PEDRO / CONSTRUIRAM-NA OS PRIMEIROS / POVOADORES E DEDICARAM-NA AO APÓSTOLO / S. PEDRO NOMEADO / PRIMEIRO PAROCO (1460)” ("CHURCH OF ST. PETER / BUILT BY THE FIRST / SETTLERS WHO DEDICATED IT TOTHE APOSTLE / ST. PETER NAMED / FIRST PARISH PRIEST (1460)").

Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Church of Our Lady of the Conception) – Convento de São Francisco (Saint Francis Convent)

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

The Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Church of Our Lady of the Conception) dating from the seventeenth century is one of the oldest churches on Pico Island. The church with only one nave is attached to the old Franciscan convent (which is currently the City Hall). It has a rectangular floor plan, with two storeys, laid out in the form of a Latin cross. The church is made of stone plastered and whitewashed masonry, with the exception of the frames of the open spaces, the socle, the corners, the pilasters and the cornice that are in stone face.

Parque (Park) Matos Souto

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

A landscape unit, on the lands of the Parque (Park) Matos Souto, that is formed by a garden, nursery, cultivation and pasture enclosures, and a two storey building, with very high ceilings and an attic. The garden has a large variety of tree and bush species and includes the recreation of environments related to the agricultural ethnography of the Island of Pico.

Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Piedade (Church of Our Lady of Mercy)

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

This nineteenth century church has three naves, with sacristies on both the gospel (left) side and the lectern (right) side and a baptistery on the lectern (right) side.
The centre nave is separated from the side naves by columns with a quadrangular base and shaft, topped with round arches steadied on imposts. The arches' keystone is decorated with flower motifs. The centre nave and the main chapel are separated by a round arch. The interior is plastered and painted, with the exception of the columns, the arches, and the frames that are in stone face. In addition to the main altar, there are two small altars in each of the side naves.

The outside is plastered and painted white, with the exception of the corners, the frames of the open spaces, the pilasters, and the decorations on the façade that are in stone face.

Casa do Pico (Pico House) – "O Alvião" Museum

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

The Casa do Pico (Pico House) and O Alvião Museum is a group of structures made up of a traditional house, a winery, a water tank and surrounding cultivation areas. It also has a small centre dedicated to information about the São João cheese.

Moinho de Vento da Ponta Rasa (Ponta Rasa Windmill)

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

The Ponta Rasa Windmill is a gyratory windmill. Its first floor has masonry walls and its second floor is a wooden construction. The grinding mechanism is on the second floor. The four sails formed by rectangular wooden rails and sailcloth are supported by a mast that comes out of the conical dome.
This completely restored windmill is near the Estrada Regional (Regional Road).

Moinho de Vento do Morricão (Morricão Windmill)

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

The Morricão Windmill is a fixed windmill on a circular base, with a masonry conical trunk where the joints are plastered with lime mortar. The wooden roof is movable. This completely restored windmill is in the Recreational Area Morricão.

Ermida de Santa Isabel (Chapel of Saint Elizabeth)

Photo by Município das Lajes do Pico

The Chapel of Saint Elizabeth is an example of good contemporary architecture; it is on par with the Centro de Artes (Art Centre), Forte de Santa Catarina (Saint Catherine's Fort), or Gruta das Torres (Towers Cave). This chapel was designed by the architects Rui Pinto and Ana Robalo. The project was part of the reconstruction after the earthquake that was felt on the islands of Pico and Faial in July of 1998 and caused the collapse of the old Ermida (Chapel) da Almagreira The pre-existing urbanization of Almagreira is on a single street whose houses are laid out perpendicularly and face east.

 


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