The urban heritage of the Lands of Priolo is one of its notable aspects, thus being strongly associated with the tourism sector. It is a legacy from the past that should be protected and preserved in order to safeguard the cultural identity and promote it. The buildings of historic value are remnants of various ages and distinct occupations and today are shared in the collective memory. Among them: fountains, bandstands - that shelter musical bands during concerts, parties and other events, lighthouses and small beacons to give assistance to maritime navigation, watermills - whose main function was to transform corn and wheat into flour for local consumption, sinks or tanks - commonly used in the past specially for washing clothes (though nowadays they are out of use), lime kilns - important local economic instruments for commercial and industrial development and colliers - structures built in the 20th century, often still intact.
Other monuments of our historical-cultural heritage stand out in this territory.
In Nordeste: Seven Arches Bridge (with Romanesque features), Town Hall of Nordeste - with a civil architectural structure of great value from the 19th century, obelisk in honor of the landing of Liberal troops in 1831(erected in 1957 with a tile of the old chapel dedicated to São Bento and classified as Property of Municipal Interest), memorial in honor of one of the renowned poets from São Miguel, Virgílio de Oliveira, and Pocinha from Nossa Senhora do Pranto - related to a legend around the construction the chapel.
In Povoação: discoveries monument populate the center of the parish in honor of the discoveries of Azores: the Settlement Door - representing the place where the first settlers landed in São Miguel, the remains of Forte da Mãe de Deus, the old Town Hall of Povoação - currently housing the Tourism Office and the library and classified as Property of Municipal Value, the current Town Hall, the Park House of Murtas - also classified as Interest Building and Municipal House of Grená, a state property located next to the geysers of Furnas.
The Lands of Priolo also feature a wide range of infrastructures that complement the tourism offer: viewpoints that offer wide panoramas over the sea, coast and mountains; parks and gardens landscaped with flowerbeds, sometimes equipped with tributes to local poets, music stands, fountains, Portuguese pavement…; Recreational Forest Reserves that enclose endemic plants and trees; picnic parks - garden spaces that invite visitors to stop for a picnic; swimming pools and bathing areas; ports for recreational fishing, being the small fishing ports reserved for fishing or to recreational areas to practice fun activities.
The museums, interpretation centers, information desks and craft centers generally display exhibitions of small pieces of local ethnography or farm implements, antique furniture and small decorative objects, as well as objects related to immigration, the cult of the Holy Spirit and sacred art.
The Priolo’s Environmental Center, Forestry Dissemination Center of Nordeste, the Azores Microbial Observatory, Furnas Monitoring and Research Center also provide a variety of activities linked to environmental knowledge and dissemination.
The tourist information offices often offer a great variety of local handcrafts, as well as the crafts shops also provide tourist information.
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