Capelas
| Capelas | |
| Civil Parish | |
 Capelas, as seen from the Vigia das Baleias Belvedere, along the northern coast of São Miguel Island
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| Official name: Freguesia de Capelas | |
| Name origin: Portuguese for "chapels" | |
| Country |  Portugal |
|---|---|
| Autonomous Region |  Azores |
| Island | São Miguel |
| Municipality | Ponta Delgada |
| Localities | Bairro Padre Inácio, Conceiçao, Maranhão, Morro de Capelas, Poços, Teatro Novo |
| Center | Capelas |
| - elevation | 130 m (427 ft) |
| - coordinates | 37°50′5″N 25°41′51″W / 37.83472°N 25.69750°WCoordinates: 37°50′5″N 25°41′51″W / 37.83472°N 25.69750°W |
| Highest point | Lagoa do Carvão |
| - location | Sete Cidades Massif |
| - elevation | 825 m (2,707 ft) |
| - coordinates | 37°49′27″N 25°44′55″W / 37.82417°N 25.74861°W |
| Area | 16.85 km2 (7 sq mi) |
| - water | .03 km2 (0 sq mi) |
| - urban | 1.48 km2 (1 sq mi) |
| Population | 4,080 (2011) |
| Density | 242/km2 (627/sq mi) |
| Settlement | 12 February 1592 |
| - Parish | 3 July 1839 |
| LAU | Junta Freguesia |
| - location | Rua de Nossa Senhora da Apresentação |
| President Junta | André Manuel Pereira de Viveiros |
| Timezone | Azores (UTC-1) |
| - summer (DST) | Azores (UTC0) |
| Postal Zone | 9545-XXX |
| Area Code & Prefix | (+351) 296 XXX XXX |
| Patron Saint | Nossa Senhora da Apresentação |
 Location of the civil parish of Capelas in the municipality of Ponta Delgada
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| Statistics: Instituto Nacional de Estatística | |
| Geographic detail from CAOP (2010) produced by Instituto Geográfico Português (IGP) | |
Capelas (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɐˈpɛlɐʃ]; Portuguese for chapels) is a civil parish along the northern coast of the municipality of Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel in the Portuguese Azores. The population in 2011 was 4,080, in an area of 16.85 square kilometres (6.51 sq mi).
The first settlements congregated around the port of Poços, along the northern edge that divides Capelas from São Vicente Ferreira; its first settlers establishing shelters in and around the 16th Century. With elevation of Capelas to (religious) parish it became integrated within the municipality of Ponta Delgada (on 11 July 1592). This administrative dependency lasted until it was elevated to status of vila, as stipulated by the Carta de Lei (Charter Law) conferred by Queen D. Maria, on July 10, 1839.
There exists a couple of versions for Capela's toponomic origin. Father Gaspar Frutuoso in Saudades das Terras notes the following:
Likewise, the brothers Bullar, in an account in their journeys, referred to a likely reality: they refer to a general local reference to the rocks along the coast as capelas, rocks taking on the appearance of small grottos and seeming to appear as chapels.
Its main church, to the invocation of Nossa Senhora da Apresentação (Our Lady of the Presentation) was raised on the ruins of an older priory and concluded in 1780. Similarly, the church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, built on the orders of Captain Agostinho de Medeiros Costa, in the 17th century, and reconstructed and expanded in 1830. Although Capelas may not have been named for the religious sanctuaries that were erected there, there are many to speak of, including the chapels of Anjo da Guarda, Santa Rita, Nossa Senhora do Rosário and Nossa Senhora de Santana, as well as many smaller hermitages to the invocation of the Holy Spirit.
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