Pico Island | Lajes | Madalena | São Roque

RibeirinhaPiedadeCalheta de Nesquim RibeirasLajesSão João

São MateusCandeláriaCriação Velha MadalenaBandeirasSão Caetano

Santa Luzia Santo António São Roque PraínhaSanto Amaro

	We can write a poem with basalt with black stone and vines on lava with incense from the mysterious cryptomeria and a large Pico in the middle of the word. Or perhaps with seagulls and Cory’s Shearwater Cicadas of the silence which is traced Syllable by syllable up to the poem that is written Up high on top of Pico on the island.   12/4/97, in "Pico" , Manuel Alegre

Pico Mountain functions as a barometer for itself and the neighbouring islands, forecasting the weather according to the position of the clouds.

When was Pico Island “discovered”? This is a question with no easy answer. All we know is that in 1460 Pico Island had already been discovered for nearly 260 years.

In the mid 14th century the islands of the Azores were already drawn in Catalan atlases and maps. However, in relation to the Azores, it is better to speak of occupation than discovery.

It is said that it was one of the King’s navigator’s, Diogo de Silves, who anchored for the first time in the Azores in 1427.

Lacerda Machado called Pico Island "S. Dinis" and adds that "in the mid 14th century the islands of the Azores appear on the maps. Here Pico Island is mentioned under the following names: "Colombis, y.a de colonbi, li comlumbi, Columbária, das pombas, j.a.de san Dinis".

As the above-mentioned author states, the name "insula de Columbis" leads us to believing that when our navigators arrived on Pico Island they encountered large flocks of wild pigeons, or “coastal pigeons” as they are commonly known.

We can add that in the time of Infante D. Henrique, Pico Island was called the island of S.Dinis. It is believed that the first settlers arrived in Pico in around 1460, under the King’s orders.

It is said that its first “discoverer” was Jos d' Utra, capitão donatário (commander of the province) of Faial, who was also capitão donatário of Pico. However, the first capitão donatário of Pico Island was Álvaro de Ornelas from Madeira Island, the son of Lopo Esteves de Dornelas and Maria de Ayala e Vasconcelos, relatives of Diogo de Silves, 1st Count of Portalegre.

Some historians state that the island’s first settlers were the ones who Captain Jos d' Utra, from Faial Island, sent to the island and docked in 21 September 1481.

Pico "is one of the most beautiful islands of our archipelago, where the “mysteries” of God intertwine with the endeavours of Man, where the abyss of the sea is followed by bucolic green slopes, where the people are like peaceful herds and the extensions of burnt land witness the miracle of how vineyards, beech and fig trees, and so many other species, sprout from basalt.” (Carreiro da Costa).

Geografically speaking, the island is divided into three municipalities: Lajes, Madalena and São Roque.

 

My island without mist And no distance to cover Where the wind is the commander Sole lord and king Without even I knowing it. The Greatest Island in dream and disgrace Always waving to whom passes adrift In ships to Canada or America. Berth of birds, poets and whalers, Nameless heroes, with one foot on land and another in the sea, So often whaling in vain.   Black, black, black and captive Great Island , my adoptive mother-island, Marvel of lava and height! King Sebastian, the desired one, One day came, but never returned. And it is here, dug next to him, That I want my grave to lay.   In Narcose de Almeida Firmino

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