Rotating wooden mill in Terreiros, Ponta dos Casteletes.

Category: Civil Architecture > Windmill

District: Açores > Velas > Fajã das Almas > Terreiros

Location

Located in the picturesque village of Terreiros, part of the remarkable Fajã das Almas, in the municipality of Velas, the wooden rotary windmill of Ponta dos Casteletes occupies a privileged position on the island of São Jorge, Azores. Its placement takes advantage of its exposure to oceanic winds, an essential characteristic for its operation.

From this location, visitors are treated to breathtaking views of the vast Atlantic and the Azorean coastline, in a setting where untamed nature blends with the mark of human presence and its history.

Architecture and Ingenuity

This remarkable example of a windmill stands out for its entirely wooden construction, a testament to vernacular engineering and adaptation to the island's available resources. Its most distinctive feature is that it is a rotary mill: the upper structure, which includes the sails and the grinding mechanism, allows it to rotate on its base, adjusting to capture wind from any direction.

This advanced functionality for its time demonstrates an ingenious solution to maximize the mill's efficiency, highlighting the practical intelligence of ancestral builders who knew how to master natural forces to sustain local communities.

Legacy and Cultural Landscape

The windmill in Terreiros is more than just a structure; it is a living symbol of the agricultural heritage and self-sufficiency that shaped life in the Azores over centuries. Once essential for grinding cereals, it represented a pillar of the local economy and the daily life of the populations.

Its presence in the landscape not only recalls the times when wind energy was vital but also integrates harmoniously into the natural environment, becoming an iconic and identity-defining element of Fajã das Almas and the island of São Jorge.

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