Flamengos () is a Portuguese civil parish () on the island of Faial in the archipelago of the Azores. Its name was derived from the grouping of Flemish settlers who made their homes in this landlocked valley, in the municipality of Horta. The population in 2011 was 1,604, in an area of 14.62 km². It contains the localities Cruz do Bravo, Farrobo, Lameiro Grande, Rua Nova, São Lourenço and Tafoneiro.
History
170px|thumb|left|The chapel of São João, in the foothills of Flamengos is the focus of annual festivals on 24 June
The first settlers that arrived in the area that became known as the Vale dos Flamengos (, or literally, Valley of the Flemish people), were seeking a sheltered area that provided access to potable water. Their original beachhead, on the Lomba dos Frades, in the Praia do Almoxarife valley was a disaster for the first Captain-Donatário Josse van Huerter (in 1465. His return in 1466-67 began a new phase in the island's history; discovering the fertile and sheltered geomorphology of the interior valley allowed the group of Flemish settlers to establish a foothold on the island (1468). These early colonizers cultivated small parcels of land along the river, taking advantage of the springs and fertile volcanic soils, cultivating oranges, corn, legumes, as well as servicing the town and other parishes on the island.
Geography
235px|left|thumb|The valley of Flamengos, in the foothills of the central caldera, as seen from Monte Carneiro
235px|left|thumb|The Ribeira dos Flamengos, a constant water source for early settlers
Flamengos is located about 5 minutes (and 5 kilometers) from the centre of Horta, via several ancillary roadways along the eastern and southern margins of the Atlantic Ocean. The Flamengos valley is an "amphitheater"-shaped area, relatively planar and intersected by ravines that extend from the slopes of the Cabeço do Fogo.
Farmlands dominate the eastern areas and the Flamengos valley, although the flanks of the mountain are used as pastureland and forests. Much of the population is employed in agriculture business, primarily dairy production.
Ecoregions/protected areas
- Parque Florestal de Falca (')
Economy
The agricultural characteristics of the parish are well known and in cases represent the characteristics of Beiras and Beiras e Trás-os-Montes. The chimneys represent the typical characteristics of southern Portugal.
Architecture
Civic
- Fountain of the Bicas (), located along the Rua do Capitão was a public fountain used until 1852; it was one of the few fountains used as a public laundry, used communally by the residents of the village, and may have pre-dated the creation of the parish;
- Bridge of Flamengos (), this bridge, another symbol of early 20th Century construction, was begun in 1903 and completed by 1908.
- Estate of São Lourenço (), the old property of Tomás de Porra Pereira, former Captain-Donatorio of Faial, and recently transferred to the islands's Serviços Agrários do Faial ('), where for many years it has been used as the location of the island's fairs, expositions, folklore festivals and other activities.
- Botanical Garden of Faial (), an interpretative center for common endemic and endangered plants, as well as many varieties of medicinal herbs, used by local residents on the island;
Religious
- Hermitage of São João Baptista (), the chapel is located at a junction of the Estrada da Caldeira (Largo Jaime Melo-Estrada da Ribeira Funda) in the foothills of the central caldera, an access that islanders traditionally used for pilgrimages () to the caldera on the feast day of John the Baptist (24 June). The erection of a hermitage/chapel came from Manuel da Silveira Brum (who had a summer residence there) and the parish vicar Father João Goulart Cardoso. From the placing of the cornerstone (24 June 1921) the responsibility for the chapel's construction fell to the proprietor and was supported by donations from the local congregation. But the project ran slowly, then stopped in 1925, before being restarted by a stipend from José Rodrigues de Amaral, before his death. In 1944 the chapel was concluded, While the religious pilgrimages were discontinued, the annual festivities continued as a social event with popular marches, food kiosks, picnicking, dances and the community Fogueira de São João (bonfire) highlighting the celebration around midnight.