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GPS 37.74049210791134, -25.662900026249908

The Church of São Pedro is located in the historic center of the city and municipality of Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, in the Azores.

History

According to Bernardino José de Senna Freitas, the church dates back to a primitive temple under the invocation of Saint Peter, which would have been built around 1418. It is impossible to fix the precise date due to lack of known documentation. The oldest references to this temple date back to 1670, although it is known that its reconstruction had taken place 54 years before, with the works being completed in 1645.

Combining information from Senna Freitas with that of the chronicler Gaspar Frutuoso, it is concluded that the works took a long time. During this period, the Blessed Sacrament was housed in the nearby Convento da Graça church.

D. João IV of Portugal contributed to these works with important donations, especially for the high altar, having also donated a bell which still recently existed in its tower, having engraved the date of 1643.

The return of the Blessed Sacrament took place on June 25, 1645, with a procession.

In 1681, part of the church and the tower were in ruins. For this reason, and also due to the growth of the parish's population, assistance was requested from the monarch for the rebuilding of the church, which only arrived in 1733. with intricate portals lintels carved in basalt and ignimbrite. Like the previous ones, the works took a long time to be concluded: only in the reign of D. Maria I did the chancel receive the gilding of its carving.

Considered one of the most beautiful buildings of Baroque religious architecture in the archipelago, it is classified as a Public Interest Property by Resolution No. 64/84, of April 30, of the Azores Regional Government Council.

Characteristics

The temple has a single nave with painted ceilings and a main altar in gilded carving. It is decorated with statues from the 17th and 18th centuries, including the painting "O Pentecostes" by Pedro Alexandrino de Carvalho.