Beauties of Azores: picturesque Church of Sao Roque in Ponta Delgada

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Hi there my Steemian friends and followers!

Welcome to my special weekly series called Beauties of Azores that was created by me to raise awareness of the extraordinary charm of a captivating Portuguese archipelago known as the Azores.

In this episode, I will show you a truly unique piece of local architecture, the famous Church of Sao Roque.

As you might remember, I have already published a post dedicated to the beautiful churches of the Sao Miguel Island here on my blog some time ago but the Church of Sao Roque is really special and I think it deserves a separate post so here it is :)

Now you probably wonder what makes this church so unique, right? It´s definitely the location. With its origins dating back to the second half of the 16th century (or possibly even earlier), the Church of Sao Roque was actually built on the top of massive volcanic cliff, right above the deep blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Although the church is one of the most famous and photographed landmarks of Ponta Delgada, the capital city of the Sao Miguel Island, to my surprise, I din´t find much information about it. There are some articles about the church written in the Portuguese language only so let me try to get some of what I have translated for myself over to you.

Originally, the Church of Sao Roque served as a parish church for the old parish of Rosto de Cao that was later divided into two parishes: Sao Roque and Livramento. Throughout the centuries, the church has undergone a number of reconstructions and extensions, most notably in the first half of the 17th century and then in the 1730´s.

The current appearance of the Church of Sao Roque is very similar to most other churches found on the Azore island of Sao Miguel. It is mostly black and white with quite simple decoration and a massive bell tower.

Located some 4 km (2. 5 mi) from the center of Ponta Delgada, the church is easily accessible from the city. There are several buses stopping by the church or you can walk to it all the way along the coast. It is a very nice walk with some impressive scenic views of the ocean along the way.

We have visited the church a few times already but unfortunately, it was always closed so we haven´t seen the interior of this magnificent building yet. If you visit the church on a warm sunny day, you might also want to bring your swimsuit with you as there are two beautiful black sand beaches found right next to the church. The one that is closer to the city is very popular with surfers too.

I hope you enjoyed this episode of my Beauties of Azores series that was dedicated to the enchanting Church of Sao Roque, an architectural gem overlooking the Atlantic Ocean from the southern coast of the Sao Miguel Island. All of the photos featured in this post were taken by me.

If you want to learn more about this exquisite Portuguese archipelago and its charms, stay tuned for the next episodes of my Beauties of Azores series ;)

This post was created by me for the Steem blockchain exclusively.

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