Rotating wooden mill in São João, Ponta Rasa

Category: Civil Architecture > Windmill

District: Açores > Lajes do Pico > São João > Companhia de Baixo

Location

Situated in the picturesque locality of São João, in Companhia de Baixo, this mill is located in the municipality of Lajes do Pico, on the Azorean island of Pico. Its position at Ponta Rasa suggests a strategic location, frequently in elevated areas or coastal promontories, benefiting from the dominant winds blowing over the Atlantic.

From this point, visitors can enjoy a naturally beautiful and serene environment, with wide views over the surrounding landscape and, perhaps, over the vastness of the ocean, characteristic features of the island's rural and coastal surroundings.

Architectural Characteristics

The rotating wooden windmill in São João, Ponta Rasa, stands out for its traditional wooden construction, a characteristic that gives it an organic appearance and harmonious integration with the natural landscape. Its designation "rotating" indicates one of its functional peculiarities: the ability of its upper structure, where the sails are located, to rotate on the main axis to capture the best wind orientation. This mechanism was crucial for milling efficiency, adapting to the variations and directions of the Atlantic winds.

Its wooden structure, with its characteristic sails, is an example of popular engineering that, over the centuries, allowed the harnessing of one of the most abundant energies in the Azores: wind. It represents a testament to construction expertise and human adaptation to the island environment.

Testimony to the Agricultural Past

This mill, as a representation of a traditional windmill, is a significant element of Azorean rural heritage. Its existence harks back to a time when the grinding of cereals, such as wheat and corn, was an essential activity for the subsistence of local communities. It was in these mills that grains harvested from the fields were transformed into flour, the staple food of the daily diet of the population.

Its presence in São João, an area that has retained traces of its agricultural identity, evokes the routines and life cycles of yesteryear, where nature and human action intertwined in food production. The mill is, therefore, a link to the practices and ingenuity of past generations on Pico Island.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt