Ilhéu de Santa Maria

Ilhéu de Santa Maria (once known as Quail Island) is a small uninhabited islet of the Sotavento archipelago in Cape Verde located off the shore of the island Santiago. Like all Cape Verdean islands, the islet is of volcanic origin. The islet has an area of roughly 0.05 square kilometres (12 acres) and is 420 metres (460 yards) long and 130 metres (140 yards) wide. It is situated at the entrance of Praia Harbour, in front of Praia da Gamboa, near the city centre of Praia.

Ilhéu de Santa Maria
Nickname: Isla de Angel
Ilhéu de Santa Maria
Ilhéu de Santa Maria
Geography
LocationPraia Harbour
Coordinates14°54′27″N 23°30′26″W
ArchipelagoCape Verde
Area0.05 km2 (0.019 sq mi)
Length0.42 km (0.261 mi)
Width0.13 km (0.081 mi)
Highest elevation6 m (20 ft)
Administration
Concelhos (Municipalities)Praia

In the 1850s, a customs house[1]:118 and warehouses were built on the islet.[1]:133 The buildings have been used for quarantine as well, but this was moved to the new Lazareto on Ponta Temerosa in the 1870s.[1]:134

In 2015, the Cape Verdean government and the Chinese-based Legend Development Company agreed on construction of a hotel resort and casino on the islet.[2] As of May 2018, the bridge from the islet to the mainland has been completed, and construction of the hotel and casino are due to start in August 2018.[3]

  • 1884 Map of Praia showing Ilhéu de Santa Maria as "Quail Island"
  • Ruined buildings on the islet

Notes
  1. Valor simbólico do centro histórico da Praia, Lourenço Conceição Gomes, Universidade Portucalense, 2008
  2. "Hotel-Casino no Ilhéu de Santa Maria: Governo concessiona Djeu por 75 anos" [Hotel-Casino in Ilhéu de Santa Maria: Government Concession of the Islet (Djeu) for 75 Years]. Expresso das Ilhas (in Portuguese). 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-11-10. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  3. "Obras do Hotel e Casino no Djéu arrancam dentro de dois meses". Santiago Magazine (in Portuguese). 2018-05-31.
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