Ermida da Nossa Senhora do Livramento

Located at the bottom of Morro Grande, this chapel was built in 1697 (17th century) and blessed three years later, in 1700, through the charter of the Bishop of Angra. It presents a beautiful frontispiece in stonework which lines the portal and the window. It became known as N. Sra do Livramento due to the donation of an image of this saint and to the development of the correspondent festivity in 1861.

It is stands out due to the overall stonework in basaltic stone, the façade also in basalt, where curves were made, and to a basalt cross.

According to the legend and local tradition, once upon a time, a man was taking his cows to the pasture in the hill. Walking by a savannah forest in the foothill, he found an image of the N. Sra. do Livramento, taking it to the Main Church of Velas, with the other saints. On the next day, the image, without being taken by anyone, returned to the same location in the savannah. As this occurred several times, the population believed that the saint wished to protect that part of the village. Therefore, a small chapel was built, with its back to the hill, so that the saint could protect the village’s population.