Santa Cruz, Madeira

Santa Cruz
Municipality (Concelho)
Houses in Santa Cruz, with the arcades of the International Airport in the distance
Flag
Coat of arms
Official name: Concelho de Santa Cruz da Madeira
Name origin: Portuguese for holy cross
Country  Portugal
Autonomous Region  Madeira
Island Madeira
Civil Parishes Camacha, Caniço, Gaula, Santa Cruz, Santo António da Serra
Center Santa Cruz
 - elevation 32 m (105 ft)
 - coordinates 32°41′00″N 16°48′00″W / 32.68333°N 16.80000°W / 32.68333; -16.80000Coordinates: 32°41′00″N 16°48′00″W / 32.68333°N 16.80000°W / 32.68333; -16.80000
Lowest point
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Area 81.50 km2 (31 sq mi)
Population 43,005 (2011)
Density 528/km2 (1,368/sq mi)
Settlement c.1425 - c.1440
 - Municipality 25 June 1515
 - City 2 August 1996
LAU Câmara Municipal
 - location Praça Dr. João Abel de Freitas
President José Alberto de Freitas Gonçalves (PSD)
Municipal Chair João Pedro Barreto de Sousa (PSD)
Timezone WET (UTC0)
 - summer (DST) WEST (UTC+1)
Postal Zone 9100-157
Area Code & Prefix (+351) 291 XXX-XXXX
Patron Saint São Salvador & Santa Cruz
Municipal Holidays 15 January
Administrative location of Santa Cruz in the archipelago of Madeira
Wikimedia Commons: Santa Cruz (Madeira)
Website: http://www.cm-santacruz.pt

Santa Cruz (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈsɐ̃tɐ ˈkɾuʃ], "Holy Cross") is a municipality, a parish and a city in the eastern part of the island of Madeira. It is the second most populous municipality, behind Funchal. The population in 2011 was 43,005,[1] in an area of 81.50 km².[2]

History

"...passing a turn in the land, they entered a cover in the beach, in which they saw a deliteful valley covered in the trees in order, where they found on land a few older fallen columns, from whom the captain ordered the construction a cross, which they raised to the heights of a tree, giving the place the name of Santa Cruz, where later that founded the noble village."[3]

To commemorate the construction of this cross, a second cross was raised, of marble, but was later destroyed, around 1889.

Geography

It is located southeast of Santana, southwest of Machico and northeast of the regional capital (Funchal); it is linked by an expressway to Funchal and Machico, as well as an ancillary road linking it to Santana. Urban sprawl from Funchal extends along Santa Cruz's western frontier, while the eastern part of municipality is the base for Madeira's international airport.

Five parishes comprise the municipality of Santa Cruz:

Economy

Madeira International Airport, was expanded onto pylons over the ocean, as part of the island's economic expansions

Agriculture and fishing are still considered the primary industries in this region, although widespread expansion of tourism in the south, and the development of the international airport has increased the number of commercial and tourist-related activities (primarily in the city of Santa Cruz).

References

Notes
Sources
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.