mountain world The first settlers arrived on the island by the end of the second quarter of the 15th century. The expansion of settlement occurred after initiatives by the island's third
donatary captain,
Rui Gonçalves da Câmara (son of
João Gonçalves Zarco, resulting in northern colonies from peoples from
Madeira. On arriving, these colonists established their settlement along the ravine, which they eventually named after the river course: Ribeira Grande. The construction of the isolated Port of Santo Iria began at the beginning of the 16th century. that included
a league around the centre, counted from the [central] pillory, comprising one parish (called
Nossa Senhora da Purificação or
Nossa Senhora da Estrela). From 1536, the monastery of Jesus was founded, Since its formation the town employed a
arruador, who was responsible for "designing" the
grounds and roads and houses that were made. Pêro Teixeira, who died in 1555, was the first, and was succeeded on 9 February by his successor. At the time of Pêro Teixeira's death town records point to the existence of various roadways established under his authority:
Ruas de João do Outeiro,
Rua da Conceição,
Rua de Lourenço Gonçalves,
Rua da Bica,
Rua do Santo Espírito,
Rua de Francisco Gonçalves Cheira-Dinheiro,
Rua das Pedras,
Rua do Rosário,
Rua de João da Horta and references to the cobble-stoning other roads. A large part of these roads continue in the current toponymy of the town. Similarly, the a clock was established in the tower of the church in 1555 and in 1578, a bell was installed in the municipal palace tower and a new butcher appeared, attesting to the development of the urban metropolo. In other parts of the municipality, such as Rabo de Peixe, its primitive parochial church was substituted by a larger three-nave structure, that presented an ornate painting of St. Peter attributed to Vasco Fernandes (1480-1543). Between 1612 and 1626, the Convent of São Francisco was constructed, reflecting the importance of the northern community. But, nothing ever became of this project. During the intervening years the continuous growth and expansion of the burgh continued: this resulted in the construction of the Church of the Misericórdia (18th century); and need to construct a new link across the main ravine. It was during the 19th century, that the
bridge of eight arcs () was completed, to complement the old one arch bridge at the main square. Further expansion of the road network continued: the
Rua das Pedras (today the
Rua Sousa e Silva) was open, as was the
Avenida Camões and the new access to the port of Santa Iria was inaugurated. It was only on 29 June 1981 that the municipal centre obtained the status of
city. ==Geography==