Lugar de Baixo
A coastal fajã in the parish of Ponta do Sol, greatly enlarged by a massive landslide from the Lombada in 1804; the entry traces its ownership history.
A locality (sítio) in the parish (freguesia) of Ponta do Sol (‘point of the sun’), lying between the town (vila) and the parish of Tábua. It is one of the many fajãs formed along the coast by the collapse of the land that towered above them. ‘Since 1804 the Logar de Baixo,’ says the annotator of the Saudades, ‘has been much larger than before, because in that year a great part of the land of the lombada (long ridge between valleys) that overlooks it, split open by the storms of the preceding years, fell towards the sea and there formed a broad and productive plain. The shock of the fall was such that the sea rose above its level along the whole adjacent coast, and the tremor was felt both on land and at sea at a distance of more than ten kilometres: the sea came far inland into the town of Ponta do Sol.’ Lugar de Baixo (‘lower place’) formed part of the great estate of Lombada dos Esmeraldos (see that entry). However, when, on the death of João Esmeraldo, the property was divided anew between his two sons and his widow, Águeda de Abreu, she reserved the Lugar de Baixo property for herself as an integral part of her dowry. It is possible that on her death it reverted to the entailed estate (morgadio) of Santo Espírito (‘Holy Spirit’); it is certain, at any rate, that it was incorporated into it at a date unknown to us. It was sold at public auction at about the same time as the Lombada, being bought by the English merchants A. Criorgi & C.ª. There stands the chapel of St Anthony of Padua (Santo António), with a fine house attached, which we shall discuss elsewhere in this work.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 01Place
Places mentioned · 05- Lugar de Baixo · Subject
Ponta do Sol. Subject of the entry, a fajã between Ponta do Sol and Tábua.
Lugar de Baixo is a coastal fajã between Ponta do Sol and Tábua in the parish of Ponta do Sol, Madeira. It was greatly enlarged by a landslide from the Lombada in 1804 (the flood that enlarged it is also dated 1803). It has the Carvalhal house chapel, rebuilt in 1906, and a meteorological station set up in 1941, and Prince Luís landed and embarked there when the sea was too rough at the town quay.
- Chapel of St Anthony
Ponta do Sol. Chapel with an adjoining house at Lugar de Baixo.
Chapel with an adjoining house at Lugar de Baixo.
- Lombada dos Esmeraldos
Ponta do Sol. Large estate above Lugar de Baixo whose land collapsed in 1804 and of which it was part.
Great sugar estate in Ponta do Sol parish, also called the Lombada da Ponta do Sol, acquired by João Esmeraldo from Rui Gonçalves da Câmara (dated 1473 or 1498 in different entries) and later named after his family. Esmeraldo founded an entail there in 1512, and the estate was later divided into two entailed estates, Espírito Santo and Vale da Bica, after lawsuits over its division. It has the Espírito Santo chapel, a ruined Santo Amaro chapel and a ruined manor house, and was transferred from Funchal to Ponta do Sol municipality in 1835.
- Ponta do Sol
Parish and town containing Lugar de Baixo, flooded by the sea in 1804.
South-coast parish and municipality, settled from about 1440 by Rodrigo Enes 'o Coxo'. Its parish church of Nossa Senhora da Luz holds a triptych. The Elucidário also records its quay of 1848, paid for by the council, and the royal visit of 1858.
- Tabua
Ribeira Brava. Neighbouring parish bounding Lugar de Baixo.
Tabua is a parish on Madeira that belonged to Ponta do Sol from 1835 to 1914 and was then transferred to the new municipality of Ribeira Brava. It is crossed by the Ribeira da Tabua and irrigated by the Lombo do Moiro levada and, since 1908, by the Monte Medonho levada. Early settlers included Rui Vaz Uzel and Rui Vaz de Medeiros; the parish's tithes went to the Jesuits, and it was devastated by floods in 1856.
People
People mentioned · 02-
Widow of João Esmeraldo who kept the Lugar de Baixo property as part of her dowry.
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Owner of the Lombada dos Esmeraldos estate, of which Lugar de Baixo formed part; his death led to a division of the property.