Santa Clara (Ponta Delgada)
| Santa Clara | |
| Civil Parish | |
 The famous Santa Clara lighthouse (that was once situated on the Tower of Belém) the ex-libris of the small parish
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| Official name: Freguesia da Santa Clara | |
| Named for: Saint Clare | |
| Country |  Portugal |
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| Autonomous Region |  Azores |
| Island | São Miguel |
| Municipality | Ponta Delgada |
| Center | Santa Clara |
| - elevation | 21 m (69 ft) |
| - coordinates | 37°44′13″N 25°40′57″W / 37.73694°N 25.68250°WCoordinates: 37°44′13″N 25°40′57″W / 37.73694°N 25.68250°W |
| Lowest point | Sea Level |
| - location | Atlantic Ocean |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Area | 2.24 km2 (1 sq mi) |
| - urban | 1.0 km2 (0 sq mi) |
| Population | 2,971 (2011) |
| Density | 1,326/km2 (3,434/sq mi) |
| Settlement | c. 1458 |
| - Parish | c. 1580 |
| - Civil Parish | c. July 2002 |
| LAU | Junta Freguesia |
| - location | 1ª Rua de Santa Clara |
| President Junta | António Cabral |
| President Assembleia | João Pacheco de Melo |
| Timezone | Azores (UTC-1) |
| - summer (DST) | Azores (UTC0) |
| Postal Zone | 9500-241 |
| Area Code & Prefix | (+351) 292 XX XX XX |
| Patron Saint | Saint Clare |
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Website: www |
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Santa Clara (Saint Clare) is a civil parish in the municipality of Ponta Delgada (São Miguel) in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 2,971, in an area of 2.24 km².
When Vila Franca do Campo was the principal centre of São Miguel, the area known as Ponta Delgada was the beginning of a vast hunting area populated by numerous "wild" mountain pigs. At the edge of this region, was the homestead of Francisco Ramalho, and was considered a starting point for huntsmen from Vila Franca. This embryonic site became the foundation of the village of Santa Clara; it was an important reference in the southwest part of the island, a determinant factor in the location and orography of the locality, combined with a cove and stone beach that later became known as "Ponta Delgada". The long, narrow basalt promontory, helped to protect the area from the undulation of Atlantic swells known as the Cunhal da Maré. The promontory helped to create a protected anchorage, that was absent along the coast until Vila Franca in the west. Many of the huntsmen that accompanied the noblemen from Vila Franca would eventually settle along the routes, creating a small nucleus. alongside farmers and fisherman.
With the growing settlement came the influence of the Church. After the construction of a temple in honour of the Franciscan Order of Poor Clares the area began to be referred to as Santa Clara. The small hermitage, its date of construction nor its location, are still unknown, apart from this reference:
At the time, and before it was partially destroyed by the installation of a railline to support the construction of the port, the eastern cove of Ponta Delgada was far deeper, and was situated by Gaspar Frutuoso. The temple, as Frutuoso explained, existed since 1522, and was implanted a short distance from the current church. The reference to a pebble beach, in the bay [of Ponta dos Alagres], situated in front of the property of Francisco Arruda da Costa, suggests that the remains of the small castelinho, supports many of the early descriptions. The small fort would, originally, have been situated over the clifftop walls over the coast, which were common to early island forts. The military redoubt, constructed in the 16th-17th century (with its first repair in 1643) was an important bastion in the defense of the zone, and one of the oldest populated spaces.
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Wikipedia