São Mateus

Also known as Praia, the lovely village of São Mateus is located on the eastern coast of the amazing Graciosa Island, on the Azores Archipelago, affirming since the beginning as one onf the main localities in the Island, along with the capital, Santa Cruz da Graciosa.

São Mateus has been able to maintain its traditional, rural and fishing ambiance of other times, conserving many buildings and elements of other opulent periods, due to the soil’s fertility and the important Maritime Port that led to the commercial trading, the population’s fixation and wealth generation.

São Mateus presents a lovely historical centre, with several highlights, such as the 15th century Mother Church (quite altered in the 19th century), and the 16th century Misericórdia Church, as well as the Chapels of Nossa Senhora da Guia (17th century), Santo António (17th century) or the Nossa Senhora dos Remédios Chapel (also 17th century), the lovely Holy Spirit Empires of Santo da Praia, Senhora da Guia and Fonte do Mato, as well as the many rural legacies, such as the Wind and Water Mills, that are also nowadays the image of the village, some of them graciously restored and conserved.

In front of the lovely São Mateus village is located the Praia Islet, a preferential place for the nestling of important Avifauna species, classified as a Natural Reserve.