Vila Franca do Campo
| Vila Franca do Campo | |||
| Municipality (Concelho) | |||
 The town of Vila Franca do Campo, with its emblematic volcanic islet, the Ilhéu da Vila Franca
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| Official name: Concelho da Vila Franca do Campo | |||
| Name origin: Portuguese for the free town of the field | |||
| Motto: Quis sicut deus?; Who is like God? | |||
| Country |  Portugal |
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| Autonomous Region |  Azores |
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| Island | São Miguel | ||
| Civil Parishes | Água de Alto, Ponta Garça, Ribeira das Tainhas, Ribeira Seca, São Miguel, São Pedro | ||
| Center | São Pedro | ||
| Highest point | Pico do Barrosa | ||
| - elevation | 949 m (3,114 ft) | ||
| - coordinates | 37°45′38″N 25°29′30″W / 37.76056°N 25.49167°W | ||
| Lowest point | Sea level | ||
| - location | Atlantic Ocean | ||
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | ||
| Area | 77.97 km2 (30 sq mi) | ||
| - water | 1.59 km2 (1 sq mi) | ||
| - urban | 3.1 km2 (1 sq mi) | ||
| Population | 11,229 (2011) | ||
| Density | 144/km2 (373/sq mi) | ||
| Settlement | 14th Century | ||
| - Municipality | 1472 | ||
| LAU | Câmara Municipal | ||
| - location | Praça da República, São Miguel | ||
| - elevation | 23 m (75 ft) | ||
| - coordinates | 37°42′54″N 25°26′9″W / 37.71500°N 25.43583°W | ||
| President | Ricardo Manuel de Amaral Rodrigues (PS) | ||
| Municipal Chair | Lucindo dos Anjos de Fontes Couto (PS) | ||
| Timezone | Azores (UTC-1) | ||
| - summer (DST) | Azores (UTC0) | ||
| Postal Zone | 9680-115 | ||
| Area Code & Prefix | (+351) 296 XX XX XX | ||
| Demonym | Vilafranquense | ||
| Patron Saint | São João | ||
| Municipal Holidays | 24 June | ||
 Location of the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo in the archipelago of the Azores
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| Website: http://www.cmvfc.pt | |||
| Statistics from INE (2001); geographic detail from Instituto Geográfico Português (2010) | |||
Vila Franca do Campo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvilɐ ˈfɾɐ̃kɐ ðu ˈkɐ̃pu]) is a town and municipality in the southern part of the island of São Miguel in the Portuguese Autonomous Region of the Azores. The population of the municipality was 11,229 in 2011, in an area of 77.97 km². The town proper, which incorporates the urbanized parishes São Miguel and São Pedro, has 4100 inhabitants.
Vila Franca do Campo displays its municipal motto, Quis sicut deus?, on its flag and on its coat-of-arms. This Latin phrase means "Who is like God?" It is a reference to St. Michael the Archangel for whom the island of São Miguel is named; in Hebrew, the name, Michael, means "he who is like God".
Founded in the middle of the 15th century by Gonçalo Vaz Botelho, the settlement was elevated to the status of vila (town) in 1472; Vila Franca do Campo quickly grew into the largest settlement and administrative seat of the island of São Miguel.
The greatest tragedy to befall the Azores occurred on 20 October 1522, when a violent earthquake hit the area of Vila Franca do Campo, then capital of the archipelago and most important Azorean settlement. During the earthquake and subsequent landslide, 5000 people were killed, with then Captain-Donatário Rui Gonçalves da Câmara II escaping the tragedy: he was relaxing in his summer home in Lagoa at the time of the tragedy. Many of the residents were buried alive from a landslide and debris. Because of its destruction, the capital of São Miguel was transferred to Ponta Delgada, where the Captain-Donatário installed his administration in a residence near the Church of São Pedro. King John III eventually elevated Ponta Delgada to the status of city on 2 April 1546, attracting more and more economic activity and settlement.
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