Candelária

Candelária is a civil parish located on the western coast of the island of Pico, in the municipality of Madalena in the Azores. The population in 2011 was 822, in an area of 29.70 km².HistoryThis was the birthplace of the late cardinal José da Costa Nunes.GeographyLinked by the Regional E.R.1-1ª roadway to the parishes of Criação Velha (to the north) and São Caetano (to the southeast), the parish is primarily a coastal agricultural community. From the coast, for about 2km, the parish comprises cultivatable lands and settlements, which starts sloping into higher altitudes, reaching its extreme at Ponta do Pico; the parish is basically a pie-shaped wedge, with 8.6km at its extreme, along the coast. Settled areas are divided equally between hedge-row-divided parcels and forested patches of land, with scrub and natural vegetation occupying higher altitudes.In addition to central Candelária (which also encompasses the communities of Biscoitos, Alto and Eira) there are smaller hamlets within the borders that follow the regional roadway, such as: Monte, Mirateca and Campo Raso.ArchitectureReligious Church of Nossa Senhora das Candeias, located along the roadway, the church was founded in 1803, and was the parish of Cardinal José da Costa Nunes. A bust of the clergyman is installed in front of the temple.