Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Nova Sintra

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Country
  
Cape Verde

Local time
  
Monday 10:30 AM

Civil parish
  
São João Baptista

Island
  
Brava

Municipality
  
Brava

Team
  
SC Juventude da Furna

Nova Sintra

Weather
  
22°C, Wind NE at 24 km/h, 66% Humidity

Nova Sintra is a town in the central part of the island of Brava in southwestern Cape Verde. It serves as the seat of the Brava Municipality. Its population is about 1,500. Its elevation is around 700 to 800 meters. Since 2010, Nova Sintra has been a city. Agriculture is the predominant source of income on Brava. Tourism is less developed, but there are a few small hotels and guest houses. Nova Sintra is linked with roads to the northern, the eastern, the southcentral and the western parts of the island as well as to the former airfield. The "aluguer" buses to the other villages start from Praça Eugénio Tavares.

Contents

Map of Nova Sintra, Cape Verde

The settlement is named after Sintra, the summer residence of the Portuguese kings. In the 18th and the 19th centuries, tourist visited during the summer months, nobles and colonial officials from the island of Santiago were staying.

The historic center is on the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Site, it had been nominated in 2004, no date has been set.

Sights

  • Nova Sintra's popular fame is Eugénio Tavares, a famous Cape Verdean writer. There is a monument of him beside the house where he lived which is museum today. It is located in a garden with pine trees, other trees and flowers including roses and sunflowers.
  • The square Praça Eugénio Tavares is the center of town. There is a well-kept park, a music pavilion, a post office, a bank, a pharmacy and the City Hall. The Protestant church Igreja do Nazareno is the oldest church of the island. Opposite the bank one of the rare dragon trees (Dracaena draco) can be seen.
  • The Catholic Church is worth a visit. It was built around 1880. There is also a New Apostolic Church, an Adventist Church, a Kingdom Hall of Jehova's Witnesses and a branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Nova Sintra.
  • Rua da Cultura is a historic street in the center of the town. Well-preserved colonial architecture can be seen here.
  • In the Eastern part of the town there is a sightworthy monument and viewpoint shaped like a ship. The name "Santa Maria" which is painted on the ship refers to the ship of Christopher Columbus. From here there is a beautiful view over the village of Santa Bárbara to the East coast of Brava and the harbour of Furna. There are similar monuments in other villages as well, e.g. in Campo Baixo in the South of Brava.

    • Climate

    Nova Sintra has a moderate tropical climate and is cooler than the low lying areas of the island. The average temperature is 13 to 23 °C (55–73 °F), the highest is 23.3 °C in September and the lowest is 13.6 °C in February. Average rainfall is 346 millimeters, the highest is 123 mm in September and the lowest is without a single precipitation between the months of April and June.

    Sports

    Sports clubs includes Académica da Brava, Benfica and Sporting Clube da Brava which is based in the city but serves the whole island, another club is Nô Pintcha (not the same as the one in Mosteiros in the neighboring island) much of it plays football (soccer), all participates in the Brava Island League. Basketball, volleyball and futsal clubs are also in the town, other sports were once the least common in Cape Verde.

    International relations

    Nova Sintra is twinned with:

  • Sintra, Portugal

    • References

    Nova Sintra Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA