Madalena is a municipality along the western coast of the island of Pico, in the Portuguese Azores. It has 6,332 inhabitants as of 2021, in an area of 147.12 km2. The municipality is fronted by the stratovolcano Pico in the eastern frontier, and the Faial Channel which divides Pico from the island of Faial seven kilometers away. It is made up of six freguesias and is encircled almost entirely by the Atlantic Ocean except in the east, where it is bordered by the two remaining municipalities on the island: Lajes do Pico to the southeast, and São Roque do Pico to the northeast.
View off the coast of Madalena parish, showing the stratovolcano Pico and settlement of the municipal seat
Pico Island is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the tradition of the Portuguese poet, Raul Brandão, Pico is referred to as the Ilha Preta, for its black volcanic soils, which nourish its UNESCO-designated vineyards that once allowed the development of the island's economy. Pico is the second largest and, geologically speaking, the most recently formed island of the Azores, being around 300,000 years old.
The island of Pico, as seen from the north-west coast in the outskirts of Madalena with vineyards and Mount Pico in the background
A traditional windmill along the coast of Monte, in the municipality of Madalena
Convent of São Pedro de Alcântara, a 17th-century building
Radar image of Pico Island next to Faial and São Jorge islands