Santo António is the capital and only town on Príncipe, and also one of the smallest capitals in the world — a few thousand people clustered on a hillside above the harbour, with a central square shaded by old trees and a handful of streets laid out in the colonial grid pattern that the Portuguese established here in 1502. From 1753 to 1852 it was the colonial capital of the entire São Tomé and Príncipe territory, which explains why a settlement of this size has such handsome public buildings.
The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary at the southern end of Rua do Rosário is the most striking colonial structure in town, its whitewashed facade visible from the waterfront. The old governor's palace sits to the west of the main square. Both are in varying states of maintenance but they convey the atmosphere of a once-significant outpost. The market near the waterfront is the social heart of the town, liveliest in the mornings when fishing boats bring in the catch.