Fajã da Ovelha
Encyclopedia
Fajã da Ovelha) is a civil parish
in the municipality of Calheta in the Portuguese
archipelago of Madeira
. In 2001, the population was approximately 1016 inhabitants, dispersed in semi-forested pastureland in an area of 24 km² (about 42.3 residents per square kilometre). Fajã da Ovelha is the least populated parish by density in the municipality, in an area devoted primarily to agriculture. Located about 7 km northwest of the town of Calheta, this parish includes three bands of residential, forested and mountain area that includes portions of Serra do Paul; the population is actually concentrated in the area between ocean cliffs and main regional roadway.
-style, was established at the end of the 16th century, as a small sacristy, and in 1550, it became the basis for the new parish, where it remained until the second quarter of the 18th century.
From regal charter, dated 11 April 1553, the chapel was extended, and by 1559 the local clergy began receiving an increase in their budget. Ironically, at about this time, the parish of Ponta do Pargo
was de-annexed from Fajã da Ovelha, to be closely followed by the parish of Prazeres
.
The oldest document for this parish, dated 1553, referring to the parochial church first identified this area as Fajã da Ovelha, from which the new parish received its identity. As Gaspar Frutuoso
would document:
"It is vulgar that a simple episode, an occasional circumstance or a fact of little value, would justify the existence of name applied to a determined site or place, that afterwords it would be converted into a population centre or an important place. Similarly, this occurred with the name of this parish".
Fajã da Ovelha existed as an autonomous parish before 1573 and, by the end of the 18th century, its demographic growth justified a permanent clergy in the parish.
In 1705, the Infanta Catarina, the Royal Regent, approved the construction of a new temple, whose location would become the centre of the parish (until then composed of dispersed homes throughout the foothills of the Serra do Paul). It was concluded at the end of 18th century and invoked the name of John the Baptist
, while the smaller chapel of São Lourenço remained a functioning entity in its own right.
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in the municipality of Calheta in the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
archipelago of Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
. In 2001, the population was approximately 1016 inhabitants, dispersed in semi-forested pastureland in an area of 24 km² (about 42.3 residents per square kilometre). Fajã da Ovelha is the least populated parish by density in the municipality, in an area devoted primarily to agriculture. Located about 7 km northwest of the town of Calheta, this parish includes three bands of residential, forested and mountain area that includes portions of Serra do Paul; the population is actually concentrated in the area between ocean cliffs and main regional roadway.
History
Fajã da Ovelha originally served as a port of easy access to Madeira, in an area that crossed by several major ravines. Much like many of the parishes, the settlement originally formed around a small chapel, this dedicated to São Lourenço, and the community was drawn together common agricultural roots. It is unclear when the settlement formed, and the unique story relates to a settler, Gonçalo Ferreira de Carvalho, who "lived [here] in the years around 1480". A few branches of families from Calheta and Paul, began to settle in this area, but no clear point marked the organization of a colony. The Chapel of São Lourenço , of a ManuelineManueline
The Manueline, or Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, incorporating maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral...
-style, was established at the end of the 16th century, as a small sacristy, and in 1550, it became the basis for the new parish, where it remained until the second quarter of the 18th century.
From regal charter, dated 11 April 1553, the chapel was extended, and by 1559 the local clergy began receiving an increase in their budget. Ironically, at about this time, the parish of Ponta do Pargo
Ponta do Pargo
Ponta do Pargo is a civil parish in the municipality of Calheta in the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira. In 2001 the permanent population within its borders was 1145, in an area of 46 km² that extended into the interior of this diamond-shape parish on the extreme western tip of Madeira...
was de-annexed from Fajã da Ovelha, to be closely followed by the parish of Prazeres
Prazeres
The name Prazeres :*Prazeres, Madeira, a parish in the municipality of Calheta, Madeira Islands, Portugal*Prazeres , a parish in the municipality of Lisboa, Portugal...
.
The oldest document for this parish, dated 1553, referring to the parochial church first identified this area as Fajã da Ovelha, from which the new parish received its identity. As Gaspar Frutuoso
Gaspar Frutuoso
Gaspar Frutuoso was a Portuguese priest, historian and humanist from the island of São Miguel, in the Azores...
would document:
"It is vulgar that a simple episode, an occasional circumstance or a fact of little value, would justify the existence of name applied to a determined site or place, that afterwords it would be converted into a population centre or an important place. Similarly, this occurred with the name of this parish".
Fajã da Ovelha existed as an autonomous parish before 1573 and, by the end of the 18th century, its demographic growth justified a permanent clergy in the parish.
In 1705, the Infanta Catarina, the Royal Regent, approved the construction of a new temple, whose location would become the centre of the parish (until then composed of dispersed homes throughout the foothills of the Serra do Paul). It was concluded at the end of 18th century and invoked the name of John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, while the smaller chapel of São Lourenço remained a functioning entity in its own right.