Dolmen

Azores special: Volcanic seductions

The heroic beauty of Terceira's largest town is evident from Monte Brasil to the cobbled streets below, says Simon Calder

Published: 04 February 2006

To appreciate fully the miraculous urban confection that is Angra do Heroísmo, start by putting on some stout shoes and walking away from it: specifically, aiming for the military base on the western edge of the city centre. When you reach the armed guards, turn sharp left and follow the finger posts to the Pico das Cruzinhas.

Trust me: this brisk stroll will provide just the right start to your meanderings around the mid-Atlantic's most beautiful town. Initially, this modest hike follows a road, but when you reach the sign reading "Authorised Personnel Only", you need to clamber up a footpath through twisted tree roots and lush vegetation (hence the footwear).

You are ascending a volcano: specifically Monte Brasil, which stands sentinel over the town. When you reach the cross at the top, your pulse may be cantering and you may be a little short of breath - especially when you gasp at the panorama that confronts you. The morning sun puts everything in sharp relief: the steely Atlantic in the foreground, the hills rolling along the horizon as a backdrop. And, sandwiched between, a town that is simply inspired.

Angra do Heroísmo was born in special circumstances. In the late 15th century, Portuguese explorers were in the vanguard of mapping the world. The island of Terceira ("third") was so named because it was discovered after Santa Maria and São Miguel. But thanks to the protection offered by Monte Brasil, it proved to have the best port - whose gracious curves you can see, just down to your right.

Within a few decades, Angra - as it was initially known - found itself straddling a maritime superhighway, a crucial pit-stop for European vessels on their way home. The island began to make a healthy living, and also started to absorb influences from the Americas and even Asia.

Blessed with equal parts of wealth and vision, the settlers set about creating a town for this new age. The structures that fill the middle distance are arranged in as close to a regular grid pattern as the topography would allow.

You can easily spot the ecclesiastical and governmental highlights - the cathedral, the churches, the palaces. Yet what gives the scene such texture is the ripple of red roofs that drape themselves over the terrain as it slides down to meet the ocean.

Look slightly to the left of this collage and you will see a distinctly modern structure: this is the CCC, a 21st-century cultural centre that is a fitting complement to the work of the dreamers and draughtsmen of half a millennium ago.

Time for your close up. Linger on the way downhill, though, to admire the way the light spills from whitewashed walls and reflects from the sea. Once you reach the edge of town, turn left to find Alto das Covas, the square at the top of Rua da Sé.

At the point where you look down this cobbled and impeccably pretty main street, experienced travellers may get all kinds of conflicting messages. Could this be the twin sister of the Brazilian city of Ouro Preto, where earnings from silver mining bequeathed a similarly lovely patina? A hidden gem on the coast of mainland Portugal? Or the Cuban town of Trinidad, where earnings from sugar helped to create an exquisite architectural consensus?

None of the above: Angra do Heroísmo is a compilation of styles, with a foot in both Europe and America. The history of the town is written on Rua da Sé - in one case, literally. At the entrance to the cathedral - a seriously angular affair, its twin spires sporting black-and-white graphics - "1534" is emblazoned on the pavement. This was the year Pope Paul III decreed that the bishop for the Azores should reside in Angra.

The embellishment of the name- adding "do Heroísmo"- took place by royal decree many years later, commemorating the fact that the town was the last piece of Portuguese territory to succumb to Spanish expansionism in the late 16th century. When Portugal retrieved its independence, one of the first acts of the restored monarchy was to add a suitably heroic suffix to the name.

Even though Ponta Delgada on São Miguel has long since taken the lead in population and commerce, Terceira's largest town remains the heart of the archipelago: spiritually, and architecturally. The attention to detail on Rua da Sé is worthy of a Hollywood set designer. The elaborate iron balconies have the delicacy of embroidery. Now and again you encounter an intricate compilation of azulejos, the blue tiles familiar from the Portuguese mainland. And the lanterns provide decoration by day, and (guess what) illumination by night; return after dark to see the street in a dramatically different light.

Such harmony is all the more remarkable given the unhappy recent history of Angra do Heroísmo. In 1980, an earthquake flattened some of the buildings and damaged many others, thankfully without loss of life. The pains that were taken with reconstruction helped the town achieve World Heritage status only three years later, when this much-cherished award was in its infancy.

The show goes on, as does business. Unlike some "museum towns", Angra do Heroísmo thrives. After your energetic start to the day, you deserve a break; and scattered through the town are a host of animated cafés that serve coffee and pastries to a crowd of regulars and the occasional lucky tourist. After much diligent research, I can report that Taberna do Bailhão is my favourite. It is a scrumptious little place just off the main drag, on the way up to the Palace of the Captains-General.

The palace did not begin life as the illustrious abode for the islands' head honcho: originally it was a Jesuit convent. It suffered in the 1980 earthquake, but has been resurrected as a powerful, symmetric counterpoint to the low-rise dwellings.

After this small diversion, you are ready for the hub of the town at the crossroads of the Atlantic: the square that goes by the name of Praça Velha. The eastern side is occupied by the Town Hall, whose municipal might has not diminished with the centuries. To its right (your left, as you look at it), the Angra Garden Hotel gets four stars for comfort, and the same again for augmenting the grace of the square.

Now head for the ocean. Several lanes dwindle towards the Atlantic, but the one you want is Rua Direita. You will arrive at the sea at the same time as you reach the Misericórdia church, whose icy blue lines set off a pleasing contrast against the terracotta roofs. Modernity intervenes just beneath the facade, where a surprising, modern and stripey water sculpture sets up an intriguing artistic contrast.

To get to the complete picture of this city of surprises, wander north from here along Rua da Oliveira: a street that tries its best to keep straight, but succumbs to the terrain. This cobbled straggle bears no great monument, yet it seems to be where the humanity of Angra do Heroísmo resides.

It also happens to end just where the walk to Monte Brasil begins. If, by now, the sun is sinking, get those boots on again and take another hike to that viewpoint on Monte Brasil: the exclamation mark that punctuates the history - and architecture - of Angra do Heroísmo.

by Independent.co.uk

 

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