Portas da Cidade

The Portas da Cidade are three arches of dark Azorean basalt with white plastered surrounds, built in 1783 as a ceremonial gateway to Ponta Delgada facing the sea, where arriving officials and travellers landed. They stood at the water's edge until the mid-twentieth century, when the harbour front was rebuilt and land reclaimed; in 1952 the whole structure was dismantled and re-erected a short distance inland on the square where it stands now, so what looks like a gate in a wall is a free-standing monument moved to suit a new shoreline. They are the emblem of the city and appear on its coat of arms. Around them, Ponta Delgada's centre keeps the basalt-and-white pattern in its churches, the Matriz de São Sebastião with a Manueline doorway, the Forte de São Brás, and pavements in black and white cobbles.

What you actually see

• The three arches - 1783 basalt gates with white surrounds facing the harbour.
• The 1952 move - the whole structure dismantled and rebuilt inland.
• The city emblem - the gates as they appear on Ponta Delgada's arms.
• The basalt pattern - dark stone and white plaster repeated across the city centre.

When to go

Year-round. Twenty to thirty minutes. Evening lighting makes the arches photograph well.

Honest expectations

It is a free-standing monument on a square, not a gate into anything, and takes ten minutes. Traffic runs on both sides. Cruise ship days fill the square. There is nothing to enter.

Nearby

The Forte de São Brás and the marina are on the waterfront; the Matriz church is behind.