Ponta do Sol (formerly: Vila Dona Maria Pia) is the northernmost cityCabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015, Instituto Nacional de Estatística, p. 32-33 on the island of Santo Antão and Cape Verde. It is situated on the coast, 4 km northwest of Ribeira Grande and 20 km north of the island capital Porto Novo. It is the seat of Ribeira Grande municipality.
Ponta do Sol is divided into the neighbourhoods Casinhas, Cavouquinho das Tintas, Chã de Cemitério, Chã de Ponta do Sol, Lombinho, Lombo da Cruz, Lombo de Paço, Os Órgãos, Ponta do Sol and Ribeira da Ponta do Sol.
Ponta do Sol takes its name from the nearby headland Ponta do Sol, the northernmost point of Cape Verde. The former name Vila Dona María Pia refers to Maria Pia of Savoy, queen of Portugal between 1862 and 1889. Urban development of Ponta do Sol started in the 1880s; before, it was a small fishing village.Revitalização dos patrimónios arquitectónicos da cidade da Ponta do Sol, António Carlos Oliveira Lopes, 2012 The church Nossa Senhora do Livramento was built in 1894. There is a Jewish cemetery in the town.
Historical population Year Population 1990 (Census)Cape Verde, www.citypopulation.de 1,505 2010 (Census) 2,143
Notable people Jorge Ferreira Chaves, Portuguese architect Raul Pires Ferreira Chaves, Portuguese worker
See also
Agostinho Neto Airport List of cities and towns in Cape Verde
References
External links