Serreta (Azores)
| Serreta | ||
| Civil Parish | ||
 A roadway in the foothills of Santa Bárbara in the parish of Serreta
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| Official name: Freguesia da Serreta | ||
| Name origin: Portuguese for small mountain range | ||
| Country |  Portugal |
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| Autonomous Region |  Azores |
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| Island | Terceira | |
| Municipality | Angra do Heroísmo | |
| Localities | Canada das Fontes, Canada do Mato, Rossa do Couto, Serreta | |
| Center | Serreta | |
| - elevation | 298 m (978 ft) | |
| - coordinates | 38°44′46″N 27°21′56″W / 38.74611°N 27.36556°WCoordinates: 38°44′46″N 27°21′56″W / 38.74611°N 27.36556°W | |
| Highest point | Santa Bárbara | |
| - elevation | 976 m (3,202 ft) | |
| - coordinates | 38°44′31″N 27°19′36″W / 38.74194°N 27.32667°W | |
| Lowest point | ||
| - location | Atlantic Ocean | |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | |
| Area | 14.36 km2 (6 sq mi) | |
| - urban | .26 km2 (0 sq mi) | |
| Population | 335 (2011) | |
| Density | 23/km2 (60/sq mi) | |
| Settlement | fl. 1684 | |
| - Parish | c. 1861 | |
| LAU | Junta Freguesia | |
| - location | À Igreja | |
| - coordinates | 38°44′56″N 27°21′54″W / 38.74889°N 27.36500°W | |
| President Junta | Sérgio Manuel Pedro Cardoso (PS) | |
| President Assembleia | Manuel dos Santos Dutra Simões (PS) | |
| Timezone | Azores (UTC-1) | |
| - summer (DST) | Azores (UTC0) | |
| Postal Zone | 9700-661 | |
| Area Code & Prefix | (+351) 292 XX XX XX | |
| Patron Saint | Nossa Senhora dos Milagres | |
| Website: http://www.jfserreta.pt/ | ||
| Geographic detail from CAOP (2010) produced by Instituto Geográfico Português (IGP) | ||
Serreta is a civil parish in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo on the island of Terceira in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Its elevation is approximately 471 metres (1,545 ft). The population in 2011 was 335, in an area of 14.36 km². It is the smallest parish in the municipality by population.
The settlement of the western portion of the island, that includes the parish of Serreta, began at the end of the 15th century, when uncultivated lands along the flanks of the Santa Bárbara massif were distributed by João Vaz Corte-Real, then Captain-donatário in Angra. The vast area, which extended from the current parishes of São Bartolomeu dos Regatos until Serreta followed the ravines, giving rise to the toponomic names Cinco Ribeiras,Nove Ribeiras or Doze Ribeiras. The administrative and religious centre of this region then concentrated on the Church of Santa Bárbara, which was established in 1489, and encompassed the communities from Cruz das Duas Ribeiras until Biscoito da Serreta.
The territory of Serreta, being far distant then the other settlements, was the last to be occupied. It was a border region of the parish of São Roque dos Alteres, and populated initially in the area of Ribeira das Catorze by peoples living in the settlement nucleus of Santa Bárbara. This was followed later in the area of Fajã, now uninhabited, which was settled by peoples from the parish of Altares, until the beginning of the 19th century. While the rest of the southwest coast developed around 1510 (except for a few zones, such as Fajã), the territory of Serreta was generally settled much later, during the middle of the 17th century. Generally, the area was still in a natural condition, where a hermit priest began to reside. The poor soils, over pumice (the Portuguese: bagacina branca of Serreta), the altitude and exposure to southwestern winds, made the lands inhospitable and most unproductive on the island. Western farmers from Angra realized the unoccupied spaces could be used to raise cattle, sheep and pigs, but the conditions were inadequate, and the animals raised there were considered worst and weakest on the island.
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