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Nossa Senhora do Rosário is a civil parish in the municipality of Lagoa, and represents the largest populated area of this Portuguese ''concelho''. The population in 2011 was 5,396,〔(Instituto Nacional de Estatística )〕 in an area of 6.52 km².〔(Eurostat )〕 ==History== Rosário was originally pertained to the neighboring parish of Santa Cruz, but quickly its population and socio-political importance grew, requiring an administrative solution. Local historians suggest that may have been one of the first villas to be settled on the island of São Miguel, although there is little record to support this assertion. The settlement was elevated to the status of ''vila'' on April 22, 1522, under the religious parish of Santa Cruz; half a decade later, the continued growth of the settlement necessitated the establishment of a secondary faith community concentrated on the parochial church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, thus justifying its creation on April 5, 1595. In his public work ''Memorial da Lagoa e do seu Concelho'' ("Memory of Lagoa and its Municipality"), Carreiro da Costa wrote: ''"There is a decree that is known by the studious, and it is a valuable document about the beginning of settlement in our islands. It is a decree during the age of minority of that monarch (Afonso V), dated 2 od July 1439, where the Infante D. Henrique is authorized to send to the first seven islands of the Azores, at the time discovered, the first families, when years before there were scattered some head of cattle."'' It was this note, that the coastal areas of São Miguel that justified the assertion that the area in which the present villa is located pertained to the first settlers in the Azores. These first settlers encountered prodigious herds of sheep and goats, and in particular rams when they arrived in the bay of Lagoa. Consequently, the cove was named ''Porto dos Carneiros'' ("carneiros" meaning "rams" in Portuguese). In the middle of the 15th Century, there existed in this settlement four religious temples, one of which was Nossa Senhora do Rosário. This church was expanded progressively, as the community grew, and between 1583-1586, it began to serve as the villas central church, while the Church of Santa Cruz was being remodeled. Nossa Senhora do Rosário was constructed over an older chapel of the same name that had existed since the 16th Century. The 17th Century church, in larger dimensions, has three naves and notable group of sculptures by the artist Machado de Castro. The municipal council of Lagoa promoted a ceremony to honour the diverse personalities from the parish to mark the 417 anniversary of the elevation of the community to civil parish status.〔 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nossa Senhora do Rosário」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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