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This hermitage under his invocation, was built on the initiative of Fernando de Loura Bettencourt and his wife, Mariana Margarida Coutinho, in 1722, next to their country house. It was decorated by both of them and endowed with the necessary assets to support it, according to a deed dated September 4th of that year.

Its works began in 1696, and it was opened for worship on November 12, 1700. In 1835, following the extinction of religious orders, the church and convent were donated to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Horta. In 1930, and due to the damage caused by the 1926 earthquake, it was subject to an important campaign of conservation and restoration works.

It was built by the Order of Friars Minor between the 17th and 18th centuries.This temple was built on an old hermitage, which existed in this location and the date of construction is in the 18th century. It presents itself as a voluminous and solid construction of three naves. In this church there is a pipe organ and a notable sculptural ensemble by Joaquim Machado de Castro from the 18th century epic.

The first temple that existed in the place of Lomba da Maia was the hermitage of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, a small hermitage that was the seat of the curate that preceded the elevation of the locality to the dignity of an independent parish, which occurred in 1876. At a distance from the parish of Maia, the demand for elevation to parish arose, the chapel was considered too small to serve the local population and without the dignity that would allow its transformation into a parish church.

This church features good basalt stonework with masonry finishes that were painted in white. It is worth highlighting the stone work carried out near the doors, windows and the bell tower.

Built in 1439, originally made of wood with a straw roof, it was rebuilt in stone masonry between 1460 and 1474.

At the beginning of the 17th century, given the growth of the population, in the western part of that parish, a curate suffragan to the Church of Santa Bárbara was established in the hermitage of São Jorge at Doze Ribeiras.

The original hermitage was built in 1685, facing the sea, surrounded by vineyards, by Manuel de Sousa Falcão and his wife, Cristina, at their own expense.

The current Church of Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres began to be built on the 2nd of February 1802, and was already completed in 1807. At that time, Pico da Pedra was a suffragan place of Rabo de Peixe, and the church was blessed by the reverend Doctor Dâmaso José de Carvalho, on September 13th of the said year 1807.

The primitive hermitage was erected under the invocation of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, next to the houses that belonged to the descendants of Pedro Anes do Canto, a rich man mentioned by Francisco Ferreira Drumond and who, upon his death, established three bonds.