History
Little is known of the first settlers, although settlement may have occurred around 1510, and increased after the 1522 earthquake that destroyed Vila Franca do Campo. Friar Montalverne indicated that the peoples of the area, thinking it to be Judgment Day, were admonished by the clergy to seek the blessing of Our Lady of the Rosary. thus beginning the regions devotion to this image of the Virgin.
The first temple constructed in Lomba da Maia to serve the public, was the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário (Portuguese: Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Rosário), a small chapel completed by the local clergy in 1867. But, this chapel was insufficient to serve the growing needs: a church was begun in 1868 and its construction was supported by donations from the local communities. Although construction slowed, its completion was made possible by Father Manuel Moniz Medeiros and master José Fidalgo, who invested most of their earnings to its completion. Lomba da Maia, for a long time remained an enclave of the nearby parish of Maia. With the completion of the church, to the invocation of Sant'Ana, there was a move to elevate the village to parish: a fact that occurred several years later.
At the end of the 16th Century, Gaspar Frutuoso referred to the settlement briefly as: "Lomba da Maia part of the sunrise escarpment with Grotinha da Fonte and the sunset escarpment with Grota da Cruz". The chronicler, still, referred to the small chapel of Nossa Senhora do Rosário on Lomba Grande. Similarly, Francisco Afonso de Chaves e Melo wrote of the settlers of Lomba da Maia in the following terms: "after Porto Formoso is the locality of Maia, civil parish of Espírito Santo. This location is the best situated on the island and is likely to become a villa. There exists in this parish two clergy, whom are annexed to the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário da Lomba and Nossa Senhora da Alegria in Furnas."
Between 1707 and 1760, the parish of Furnas was integrated into Lomba da Maia.
The parish was finally elevated to the status of civil parish in 1908.
Read more about this topic: Lomba Da Maia
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“I assure you that in our next class we will concern ourselves solely with the history of Egypt, and not with the more lurid and non-curricular subject of living mummies.”
—Griffin Jay, and Reginald LeBorg. Prof. Norman (Frank Reicher)
“Anyone who is practically acquainted with scientific work is aware that those who refuse to go beyond fact rarely get as far as fact; and anyone who has studied the history of science knows that almost every great step therein has been made by the “anticipation of Nature.””
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“No one can understand Paris and its history who does not understand that its fierceness is the balance and justification of its frivolity. It is called a city of pleasure; but it may also very specially be called a city of pain. The crown of roses is also a crown of thorns. Its people are too prone to hurt others, but quite ready also to hurt themselves. They are martyrs for religion, they are martyrs for irreligion; they are even martyrs for immorality.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)