20/07/2024
Pico in a nutshell
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Settlement of the uninhabited island of Pico, one of the nine islands of the archipelago of the Azores aka the Western Isles or Flemish Isles began around 1460 with Portuguese settlers, mostly from northern Portugal via the island of Terceira, followed by Flemish settlers from neighbouring Fayal about 20 years later. They survived by capturing domestic animals turned wild, dropped off years earlier on orders of Prince Henry the Navigator.
Lajes, the original settlement, became a municipality in 1501, São Roque on the north side in 1542, and on the west side, Madalena, in 1723. Pico, Fayal (5 km) and São Jorge (12 km) are known as the Triangle, part of the central group of five islands, including Terceira and Graciosa.
The island takes its name from its geological form, a slumbering volcano 2351 metres high (the highest mountain in Portugal), the remains of lost Atlantis(?). Raul Brandão, the national writer who visited Pico in 1924 and whose book “The Unknown Islands”, published in 1926, recently translated, describes it as “Ilha Preta” (black island) because of the omnipresent volcanic black basalt.
The second-largest island, it is about 450 square km with 14,000 residents (closer to 10,000 as many emigrants register as residents but are living elsewhere), swelled by tourists and ex-pats in the summer. The 17 villages nestled around the rocky coastline have less than half of the population of a generation ago due to emigration, mostly to the Americas.
The weather is unstable, often resulting in four seasons in a day, rainbows galore! Temperatures range from 14 to 22 with mild wet winters, moderate dry summers, and an occasional earthquake or hurricane. The last major earthquake in 1998 destroyed over a thousand homes in Pico and killed nine people in nearby Fayal; hurricanes coming up the Atlantic coast from the Caribbean seem to be veering increasingly eastward, the last major one, Lorenzo (cat. V, 2019), caused considerable damage along the coast.
Pico’s last volcanic eruptions occurred during 1718-20, creating lava flows down to the sea, known as “mistérios” (mysteries), both on the north and south sides. The first known eruption after settlement occurred in 1562, creating the panhandle “mistério” in Prainha. It lasted two years and was visible from São Miguel, almost 300 km kilometres away.
Initially, Pico’s main industry was exporting its fine timber to the other islands, and growing pastel exported to Flanders for dye, but monks soon discovered how to make superb white wine from lava rock soil. Frei Gigante (wine of the same name recommended) supposedly brought the famous Verdelho vines to Pico from Madeira via the Mediterranean.
Franciscan monks built two substantial monasteries in Pico, still extant, in Lajes (1641) and São Roque (1721). The Carmelite order built one in Madalena which now houses the wine museum, including a winery and part of the original vineyard. The Jesuit monastery in Toledos (Madalena), which had a winery, is an impressive ruin, a consequence of the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal in 1759 on orders of the prime minister, the Marquis de Pombal.
Monks were at the forefront of the lucrative wine industry which was eventually overtaken by Fayal burghers when the monastic orders were extinguished in 1832-4 following a civil war between two brothers; Dom Pedro IV, the first emperor of Brazil, the “liberator”, progressive, was supported by English and French liberals; against his brother Dom Miguel, absolutist, supported by the clergy and an 80,000 strong army. Pedro won with 7,500 men including thousands of Azoreans who sailed from Ponta Delgada in 1832. The war ended in 1834, and Miguel pensioned off to his wife’s family in Austria.
The wine industry grew rapidly, especially in areas of lava rock fields, from Santo Antonio on the north side, westward to Madalena and Criação Velha, to Silveira on the south side, with some exceptions such as Baia das Canas in Prainha, and Engrade in Piedade. To prepare the ground, the rock-strewn lava fields were cleared into piles called “maroiços” (mounds of volcanic stones, some quite large and pyramid-shaped which some contest are pre-existing structures); next came dry-stone basalt walls, semicircular, or rectangular, according to a set pattern, to protect the delicate vines from wind and salt water. The strenuous work was performed by the first settlers, including slaves. It is said that if the rock walls built were to be stretched, they would circle the earth twice!
Then calamity struck. In 1852 the vineyards were destroyed by powdery mildew (odium). The Fayal burghers were ruined financially, the relics of their wealth still visible in the mansions, some in ruins, lining the seafront from Madalena to Candelária. Work dried up, no need for carpenters to make barrels, weavers to make wicker baskets to transport grapes, blacksmiths to fabricate implements, and harvesters to pick grapes or prune them; the largest vineyard in Pico required 500 men at pruning time!
The ensuing famine was relieved by corn brought from America by Consul Dabney in Fayal who was also a founder of the Azorean whaling industry. Young men fled clandestinely on American whaling ships, working their way to the California gold fields. Whole families left for Brazil. Waves of emigration were not new, occurring several times before following devastating earthquakes. Emigration is an Azorean way of life.
Following the blight of 1852, mould-resistant grapes of the Isabela variety, were imported from America. It produced an inferior red wine which, although still popular, especially at the yearly Holy Ghost festivals, never reached the wine cellars of the Czars or the tables of kings. The dying wine industry yielded to hunting whales as the main economic mainstay until 1986 when it was replaced with whale watching as a condition of Portugal’s entry into the European Union.
After yet another wave of emigration to the Americas in the latter part of the 20th century, most of the vineyards were abandoned, left overgrown with vegetation. Following UNESCO's designation in 2004 as world heritage, the vineyards became eligible for government grants to restore them with the ancient grape varieties that had survived; it was a game changer for Pico.
The plan worked. Today Pico’s traditional white wine based on the Verdelho variety, is again being served worldwide, commanding commensurate prices, the Czar brand recently sold a small quantity of vintage 1999 Pico Verdelho for 7,500 euros a bottle, but 15 euros today will buy a good sample. Where else is sea-mineralized white wine produced from grapes grown by hand on lava rock in a pristine volcanic environment; not many places.
The twenty-first century has seen a dramatic shift in Pico’s fortunes, starting with the modernization of infrastructure following the Carnation revolution of 1974, which overthrew forty-eight years of fascist dictatorship. The building of new ports, paved roads, airport, and laying of fibre optic cable has ended Pico’s isolation.
The new economy of Pico is led by a revived wine industry, a robust dairy sector distinguished by its happy cows raised outdoors, fishing and increased tourism.
For the first time in modern history, Pico has experienced net migration. The spell of the volcano which seems to affect everything, from wind currents to intercellular fluid, enchanted about 500 new residents from northern Europe, Germany, France, Spain, Croatia, Bulgaria, Italy and the UK plus hundreds of ex-pats from the USA and Canada to make the move. The diversity has created a vibrant dynamic in local communities throughout the island, invigorating Pico’s artistic traditions, such as music and the traditional call dance, “Chamarrita”.
Hopefully, the mountain will continue to safeguard this corner of paradise. Pico may need protection for the first time, as it is wary of mass tourism.
