Monumentos e Sítios

Com o declínio da Capitania de Alcatraz, a qual pertencia, a Praia de Santa Maria, como era então designada, desenvolveu-se na segunda década do século XVI, passando a ser sede da Capitania do Norte. Ascendeu igualmente à categoria de vila.

Later, it also benefited from the decline of the city of Ribeira Grande to become, over time, due to its privileged location, its large port, its salubriousness and its better conditions of defence against pirate and corsair attacks, the main population centre of the province of Cabo Verde.

However, in the mid-16th century, the village was insignificant, with houses and straw huts predominating around the Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça. Gradually, Praia of Santa Maria absorbed all the technocracy initially set up in the then tottering Ribeira Grande. In the 14th of August of 1612, Felipe II, ordered by charter that the governor or bishop would reside alternately in Praia, preluding the definitive transfer of the administrative and ecclesiastical headquarters to this village. However, the confirmation of Praia as the true capital of the Province of Cabo Verde, would only be a reality in 1770.

Despite the change of the capital, Praia remained devoid of infrastructures consistent with the condition it boasted. Thus, the central and local governments made efforts to plan the urban development of the town, with streets, open areas and squares, construction of pertinent infrastructures such as the pier, the customs office, the military barracks, the hospital and the Town Hall, among others. And in terms of hygiene, drying up the main swamps that flanked the town, bearing in mind the serious damage they caused to public health.

 Em 28 de abril de 1855, o governador Arrobas fixou definitivamente a capital da Província, na vila da Praia, colocando assim termo à “eterna discussão” em torno da mudança da capital para outras paragens, em virtude da insalubridade que a vila apresentava em época das chuvas.

In 1858, the town of Praia was ascended to the condition of city, and later in 1975, with the independence of the country, it became Capital of Cabo Verde. In May 2013 it was elevated to the category of National Heritage, by resolution No. 67/2013 of 17 May.