Angra

Angra lies on Terceira in the Azores, where its harbour's two natural basins offered shelter in the mid-Atlantic. From the fifteenth century, ships travelling between Europe, Africa and the Americas and Asia used the port as a stop on long ocean voyages.

Angra was granted city status in 1534 and became the seat of the Azorean diocese. Its streets and religious buildings grew around the harbour, while a system of fortifications protected the port. The forts of São Sebastião and São João Baptista testify to the strategic importance of this island anchorage in the age of sailing fleets.