Gastronomy - Graciosa - Traditional Food Specialities

It is the fish that abounds off its coasts that holds the place of honour in the cooking of Graciosa, in the form of delicious fish stews and baked parrot fish. The local lobsters and spider-crabs are an exquisite meal in themselves while the smaller crabs and goose barnacles can serve as tasty appetisers.


The focal sweets are rich and varied and include not only cheese-cakes (queijadas) but specialities with such names as encharcados de ovos, capuchas, bolos de junça, cavacas, barrigas, pastéis de arroz, escomilhas and massa sovada, the last mentioned being connected with the Holy Ghost Festivals.
To accompany the meal there is the famous white wine of Graciosa, light, dry and fruity, or then the wine called vinho de cheiro that accompanies all the festivals in the island. The brandy, aged in casks, is an excellent digestive and those who like sweet drinks have the locally produced wine called angelica.

"Biscoitos" vines.
The first settlers came from lands where vine growing was a centuries-old tradition. When they saw the lava beds called biscoitos - sunny and only slightly damp, that covered part of the island, they immediately set to work and by dint of hard work managed to plant there the vine shoots brought from the continent. This marked the birth, in the early 16th century, of the vineyards that cut the landscape up into rectangles of black stone. The phylloxera ravaged the vineyards in the 19th century but the initial verdelho strain was joined by arinto and later by terrantês, which ensured the survival of the vines on the island.

Festivals - Graciosa Island - Azores

The enthusiasm and colour of Portuguese pilgrimages is renewed every year in the Festivals of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, held at the town of Santa Cruz da Graciosa, which is specially decorated for the occasion. The ceremonies attract people from all over Graciosa and from other islands as well as Azorean emigrants in North America. They are held every year in August.

The Festivals of the Holy Ghost are a symbol of the devotion of the Azoreans and an expression of a cult with medieval roots. They enliven the villages on Sundays with the procession of the "emperor", the showy decoration of the chapel called "theatre" or "empire" and the "bodo" or banquet in which wine and food are distributed. The festivals are repeated all over the island after Whistsun and they join together local residents and outsiders in the same religious and festive spirit.

Sporting Holidays - Graciosa Island - Azores

Two small beaches of soft sand at Praia and a natural pool at Carapacho, formed by volcanic rocks, satisfy the needs of lovers of swimming, sunshine and the sea. Praia and Santa Cruz da Graciosa offer good natural conditions for the practice of sailing, windsurfing and water skiing.

It is nevertheless the marine depths along the coast of Graciosa that provide the major attraction for those who like to spend their holidays practising sports. Because the transparent waters hide grottoes and rocks with strange shapes and varied colours, covered with seaweed and molluscs, And the wealth of fish, of all sizes and colours, thrills divers and makes them feel they have plunged into a world made up of shining shoals. The whole coast of Graciosa provides excellent conditions for diving. Fishing from rocks or boats allows interesting catches of barracuda, oceanic bonito, scorpion-fish, conger eel. bream, amberjack, comber, fork beard, moray eel, grouper, wrasse, pork-fish, perch, octopus and lobster. Hunters can set their sights on rabbits, quail and pigeons.

The Windmills - Graciosa Island - Azores

The landscape of Graciosa attracts and fascinates the visitor. It is made up of plains, round hills covered with trees, vineyards lying between dark stone walls, chequered fields of tilled land and the constant presence of the blue sea. What also attracts and fascinates is the atmosphere of calm isolation that is lived and felt, the unusual situation of an island that is almost cut off from the world and where life maintains the rhythm of the seasons.

The windmills
The arms and wooden lattices which are covered with cloth when greater speed is desired or the wind is weak. The walls of the cone-like trunk are while-washed. The door and the small windows are edged in blue or red. The whole is covered by an onion-shaped dome ending in a point. That is what the picturesque windmills of Graciosa are like. Flapping their wings at the tops of hills, particularly in the Praia area, they can be considered the true symbol of the island.
The outline and shape of these windmills recall those which for centuries ground flour or pumped water in the fields of northern Europe. But is their origin connected with the presence of Flemings in the settlement of the Azores? The answer to this question is neither simple nor positive. It is known that in the Azores wheat was formerly ground by water-mills where streams existed or by mills where the stones were moved by patient oxen or donkeys. These mills - which are still in operation in some islands - were a royal privilege entrusted, as a reward, to the captains-donees and nobles. It was only with the end of absolutism in the early l9th century that milling was freed from feudal rights and made tax-free. Researchers believe that the first windmill was built in 1818 at the initiative of a priest on Terceira island. Others followed and the windmills spread all over the archipelago, except for the island of Flores where there are many water-mills.


The windmills used in the Azores vary from island to island. On Graciosa it is the dome that is moved to accompany the direction of the wind, using for the purpose a long wooden pole that almost touches the ground. On Faial, for example, it is the whole body of the windmill, built of wood and other light materials, that rotates on the stone tower on which it is based. The enigma of the origin of the windmills of the Azores therefore remains But the windmills fit so well into the green landscape that they deserve to have been there at the very beginning, awaiting the first settlers.

Hills, Islets and Caverns - Graciosa Island

The landscape of Graciosa attracts and fascinates the visitor. It is made up of plains, round hills covered with trees, vineyards lying between dark stone walls, chequered fields of tilled land and the constant presence of the blue sea. What also attracts and fascinates is the atmosphere of calm isolation that is lived and felt, the unusual situation of an island that is almost cut off from the world and where life maintains the rhythm of the seasons.

The hills
With the names of Serra Dormida, Serra Branca and Serra das Fontes, these hills are like belvederes, affording views of the island and sea. Low-lying the altitude of Pico Timão is only 398 metres while that of Serra do Facho is 375 metres - with soft curved lines, covered with their original vegetation of beech-trees, heather, incense, vinhático and also Japanese cedars, they are the natural framework for restful walks, communion with Nature and quiet picnics.

The islets
Rocks inhabited by birds that crop out in the sea, they are one of the charms of Graciosa, surprises that await the visitor at the end of a bay or a cape. The most suggestive is Baleia (literally, Whale), which looks like a giant mammal anchored by the shore. The others have names such as Bordo do Pico, Gaivotas, Pesqueira, Vermelho, Comprido, Grande and Agulha.


The caverns
The insides of the island can be viewed from other places, less spectacular than the Sulphur Cavern (Furna do Enxofre) no doubt, but still fascinating. Because here and there you will find more or less deep fissures that invite braver persons to discover the secrets of the volcanic formation of Graciosa. Such is the case of the caverns (Furnas) of Bolos, Linheiro, Manuel d'Avila, Lembradeira, Queimado, Labarda, Cardo, Cão, Gato, Castelo, Calcinhas, Vermelho, Urze, Furada and Luis. Recommended: equipament and a guide.

Sulphur Cavern - Furna do Enxofre - Graciosa

The landscape of Graciosa attracts and fascinates the visitor. It is made up of plains, round hills covered with trees, vineyards lying between dark stone walls, chequered fields of tilled land and the constant presence of the blue sea. What also attracts and fascinates is the atmosphere of calm isolation that is lived and felt, the unusual situation of an island that is almost cut off from the world and where life maintains the rhythm of the seasons.

Sulphur Cavern
Volcanological phenomenon, geologically unique in the world. In the interior of Caldeira, the crater of a former volcano, there is a deep tunnel with a depth of about 100 metres. At the bottom lies a huge grotto, with an 80 metres high vault covered with stalactites and an underground lake of cold, sulphurous water with a diameter of about 130 metres and a maximum depth of 15 metres. Besides the entrance tunnel there are two other openings in the flanks of the crater. You can walk down the tunnel by a stone stairway, The recommended visiting time is between 11 a.m. and 2 pm., when the sunlight penetrates the interior of the cavern and creates dazzling effects.


From inside the Furna do Enxofre (Sulphur Cavern) lookup up at the cave entrace. The stone tower to the right contains the stairway you use to get down to it.

Prince Albert of Monaco, the famous l9th century oceanographer who led several expeditions in the waters of the Azores, was one of the first visitors of the cavern, having gone down into it by a rope ladder in 1879.
After visiting the Sulphur Cavern you should walk about Caldeira and circle its crater. Magnificent vistas. Possibility of catching sight of the islands of Terceira, São Jorge, Pico and Faial.

Art and History of Graciosa - Graciosa Island

Santa Cruz da Graciosa
Picturesque, while-washed town framed in foam and blue by the sea. Streets with manor-houses, many of them with but one storey, constituting an interesting group representative of rural architecture. At the centre of the town there are two large tanks, in times gone by used as water reservoirs for cattle, and a cluster of araucarias and elm-trees. Places to visit: Parish church; Church of Santo Cristo; Belfry; Cruz da Barra (cross) ; Chapels of Monte da Ajuda and the Ethnographic House.

Guadalupe
Typical, rural village, with white-washed houses set among flowers. The chapel of São Miguel Arcanjo (18th c.) is worthy of a visit. The Church of Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe. 18th c. building. Lively facade, in the baroque taste of the Azores. High and side altars. Glided, carved woodwork. Images.
Luz. White houses facing the sea, with the green heights of Caldeira in the background. The Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz. 17th c. building reconstructed in the 18th c. Ceiling of the chancel. High altar. Sculptured woodwork.

Praia
Old town streets and buildings recall its past importance. Picturesque fishing port. Opposite lies Praia islet, covered with vegetation and worth visiting by boat.

Vitória
Picturesque village.

The Graciosa panels
Masterpieces of Portuguese "primitive" painting of the 16th century. The artist is unknown, although they have been attributed to Cristóvão de Figueiredo. Five of the panels are on the theme of the Cross of Christ - the Way of the Cross, Erection of the Cross, Calvary, Invention of the Cross and Exaltation of the Cross - which suggests that they were specially ordered for the church of Santa Cruz, where they are to be found, The sixth panel, on Pentecost, shows the Virgin, the Apostles and the Holy Women receiving the light and fire of the Holy Ghost, which fits into the Azorean cult of the Holy Ghost, present since the start of settlement.

Discovery of Graciosa - Graciosa History

The date of the discovery of Graciosa is doubtful, it is probable that it has been discover by sailors from the neighboring island of Terceira. It´s known only that was conquered by the order of the Infante Don Enrique, and in the middle of XVth century already were in it colonizing, being a pioneer Vasco Gil Sodré, of Montemor-o-Velho, with his family and his servants, he constructed his house in the same place where Carapacho settle. In spite of the formalities done by Sodré to receive the donation of the island, the Capitanería of the north part of Graciosa was granted to Pedro Correia da Cunha, brother-in-law of Christopher Colón, and the southern part to Duarte de Barreto.

The increase of the population - according to some historians came from Beiras and Minho and also Flanders-, as well as the prosperity of the island, makes Santa Cruz to receive the letter of burgo in 1486; while Praia received this distinction in 1546. The names of the big families that contributed to the accession and the growth of the island t are still today in the island.

Since XVIth century dedicated to the agriculture and to the grapevine, Graciosa exports, wheat, chicory, wine and brandy. With agricultural economy predominance, it made all its trade with Terceira that had a port frequented by ships of strong tonnage and was the economic and administrative center.

Graciosa suffered numerous assaults and corsairs' plunders during the XVIIIth century, but also historical personalities have visited it throughout centuries. The first one was Father António Vieira that, in 1654, after the shipwreck of the ship that was transporting him to Lisboa, near the island of Curved, was gathered by a Dutch corsair who took him to Graciosa, where he remained for two months. Later came the French writer Chateaubriand, who did a stop in the island during his escape to America in the time of the French Revolution, and he refers in some of his works his time in Graciosa.

Almeida Garett

The poet Almeida Garett resided also in Graciosa in 1814, when he was 15 years, after a visit to his uncle judge of the King; he wrote some texts that prove his talent. Finally, in 1879, came the Prince Alberto of Monaco to the Island to make his acquaintances works of hydrography and study of marine life.

Beign an island dedicated to the agriculture, the cattle and the production of milk, Graciosa keeps its characteristics of rural and calm island, and taking part of the progress of Azores.

Santa Cruz da Graciosa - Graciosa Island

Santa Cruz da Graciosa is a Portuguese municipality in the Graciosa Island, in Azores.
The population of the municipality is 4,777 and its area is 60.7 km². It is divided into four parishes, and includes the entire island of Graciosa, which is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.


Today, Santa Cruz da Graciosa is a picturesque town that offers a nostalgic window to the past with its patched roads, white houses, and 500 year-old buildings. The town is also a great base for exploring the rest of the Graciosa Island and you’ll leave only after experiencing the inner sense of peace and tranquility that Santa Cruz is known for.

The historic town center of Santa Cruz da Graciosa is probably the focal point of the town. The center has two water reservoirs, originally used to water the cows in the area. The reservoirs are surrounded by Brazilian pines and elms that give Santa Cruz da Graciosa its natural look.


Around the town center, you’ll find a multitude of old historic buildings like the Santa Cruz Church, which was built in the 16th century and rebuilt in the 17th century. This church is a masterpiece of wood, tile, and old panels and stores antique Portuguese artwork that date back to the 17th century.

The Santo Cristo Church, Our Lady of Charity Church, and the São João, Cruz da Barra (Iron Cross) and São Salvador chapels are additional examples of Santa Cruz da Graciosa’s architectural patrimony.


The town is also home to the Ethnographic Museum. This museum contains items that are related to the wine culture of Graciosa Island as well as the town’s previously thriving whaling industry.

Outside of Santa Cruz da Graciosa, the mountain of Monte de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda is worth climbing as the peak provides a panoramic view of the town, the interior plains of Guadalupe, and the north side of Graciosa Island.

Before leaving to explore the other sites on Graciosa, be sure to sample the fine traditional cuisine of Graciosa at Santa Cruz’s quaint restaurants. Santa Cruz da Graciosa is famed for its fish dishes, featuring locally caught fish. The Caldeirada de Peixe and the Roasted Fish are two popular specialties. Off the coast of Santa Cruz da Graciosa are an abundance of shellfish, from crabs and lobsters to limpets, which are regularly cooked and served at the local restaurants. The town is also known for its delicious cupcakes, rice pastries, and sweet bread, including the Encharcados de Ovos and Massa Sovada.

Wine aficionados, moreover, will find it hard leaving Santa Cruz da Graciosa (or Graciosa Island for that matter). From the roots of the island’s vineyards come some of the best wines in the Azores. The white wines and aperitifs at Santa Cruz go very well with the seafood dishes served at its restaurants. You can also enjoy the old Aguardentes, a hard liquor distilled in old copper distilleries. The wine is more a dessert wine served best while sampling the town’s dessert specialties like cupcakes and sweet pastries.

Graciosa Island - The white Island, History and Attractions

Graciosa Island, also known as White Island, is the northernmost of the Central Group of the Azores Islands. The island has an area of 60.84 km² in an oval form, with a length of 10 km and a width of 7 km. The entire island is a large stratovolcano which rises from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The southeastern end is dominated by a 1.6 km wide caldera, known as Caldeira.

The landscape of Graciosa enchants visitors with its tree-dotted round hills, vineyards that lie between stone walls, checkered fields of tilled land, whale-shaped rocky formations, sulphuric caverns, and bird-nested islets, which mixed with the white village houses and the onion-shaped dome windmills, provides for a truly idyllic experience.

Graciosa Island was likely first discovered in 1450 and settled by Vasco Gil Sodré, arriving from Terceira Island. Vasco Gil Sodré cleared much of the land and built a custom-house on the island, but the first captaincies of Graciosa were given instead to Pedro Correia da Cunha who married the sister of Christopher Columbus’ wife and Duarte de Barreto. In the ensuing centuries, Graciosa became an agricultural production center of wine and wheat, explaining the frequent corsair attacks it suffered during the 16th and 17th centuries.


Graciosa Island is full of natural gems. The sulphur caverns of Furna do Enxofre are probably the most unique and renowned of the island’s attractions. The caverns are a geological phenomenon not found anywhere else in the world. It was first visited by Prince Albert of Monaco, the famous oceanographer of the 19th century. At Furna do Enxofre, a deep tunnel of 100 meters is found in the interior of the crater of a former volcano. There is a huge grotto 80 meters high with stalactites and a cold underground lake of sulphurous water. The best time to visit the cavern is at noon when the sunlight reaches the interior producing a dazzling light show.

Besides Furna do Enxofre, there are other interesting but less spectacular caverns like the Manuel de Ávila, Furada, Linheiro, Bolos, Lembradeira, Calcinhas, Queimado, Labarda, Cardo, Gato, Castelo, Vermelho, Urze, Cão, and Luis. Hiring a guide and renting equipment is recommended for exploring any of these caves.

The Carapacho Hot Springs are a must as well; you’ll find spring baths that are rich in medicinal mineral waters and help treat skin and rheumatic ailments. Carapacho is located in the southern end of Graciosa Island and is a great fishing and swimming destination as well.


Bird-watching is also popular in Graciosa. The islets along the coast of the island like Praia and Baleia are habitats for numerous sea birds.

Hiking, peaceful walks, and picnicking on the island are particularly enjoyable as well. There are a number of hills that are covered with unique vegetation like beech-trees and Japanese cedars. These hills offer sweeping views of the island and sea. The Serra Dormida, Serra das Fontes, Serra Branca, Pico Timão, and Serra do Facho are just a few of these high peaks. While atop any of them, be sure to look out for the myriad picturesque windmills that Graciosa is so well-known for; many of the windmills are located atop the hills of Praia.