Praça Central

Vila Nova Sintra's central square is the heart of the town and a good place to settle and watch life pass. The post office and bank are nearby, and a few benches under trees make it easy to spend an hour doing nothing much. The square is associated with Eugénio Tavares, the poet who lived and wrote here and whose mornas gave Cape Verde some of its most enduring music — there is a bust of him in the town.

In the early evening the square fills with locals: old men in shade, children running, and the particular unhurried sociability of a small Atlantic island town. The views from the edges of the square toward the green interior of Brava are a reminder that this is one of the most fertile and pleasant islands in Cape Verde.

things to do sight
A story
The poet Eugénio Tavares was born on Brava in 1867 and spent much of his life writing morna — the melancholy, soulful song form that is Cape Verde's national music. His mornas from this square became standards that are still sung across the archipelago. When Cesária Évora recorded "Sodade," she was singing in a tradition that Tavares helped define.