Praia da Vitória
Information
Praia da Vitória is a lovely town located on the eastern coast of the wonderful Terceira Island, on the greenish Azores Archipelago, where is located the largest bay of the Azores, in a scenery of great beauty.
The town is rich in history, monuments and traditions. Its colonization started back between 1456 and 1474, and since the early beginning, the agriculture, cattle breeding and the very important Port of easy accessibility made of Praia da Vitória a wealthy town. In fact, for some years, this town was one of the main commercial and trading Ports of the Archipelago in the several maritime transcontinental routes.
Its great development was nevertheless stopped by some natural catastrophes, namely the so called “Caída da Praia”: big earthquakes that caused mass destruction.
The construction of a new Maritime Port and a new Military Airport, on the 20th century, doted the town with a new
dynamics and richness.
It is worth walking by its lovely historical centre, with traditional paved streets and typical picturesque architecture.
Praia da Vitória is proud of its monuments, with highlights such as the 15th century Mother Church, the Santa Catarina Fort, the lovely 16th century Senhor Santo Cristo Church, the Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, São Salvador and São Lázaro’s Chapels, the lovely building of the Town Hall, or even the interesting Vitorino Nemésio House-Museum where the Portuguese poet was born.
On the environs, the lovely Cume Mountain Range offers astonishing natural panoramas, that also can be observed from the well known Facho Viewpoint that provides as well a wonderful landscape over this amazing town of Praia da Vitória.
