São Filipe, Cape Verde
São Filipe (Portuguese for "Saint Philip") is a city on the west coast of the island of Fogo, Cape Verde. It is the capital of the island, and the seat of the São Filipe Municipality. The island's airport, São Filipe Airport, is located on the southeastern edge of the town and the island's port is 4 km north of the center at Vale de Cavaleiros. The town's elevation is 20 meters. History. São Filipe was founded in the 16th century and is considered to be the second oldest town in Cape Verde after  Ribeira Grande, but a town charter was not granted before 1922. It prospered due to the cultivation of cotton, which was sold on the African coast. In 1655 São Filipe was destroyed by Flemish pirates. In the 18th century it went into economic stagnation, as did Ribeira Grande. The cultivation of cotton was replaced by wine, coffee and jatropha (for oil and soap production), which led to an economical upswing in the 19th century. Representative town houses (sobrados) were built in the city centre, around the parish church. Currently, 70% of the houses in the city centre date from the  19th century. Beaches. "Praia da Bila", a black beach, is 40 m below the city center. It is not very clean, and on many days the sea is very rough. The inhabitants of the city prefer the beach at the harbour "Porto de Vale de Cavaleiros", about 4 km in the north of Sao Filipe which is the island's westernmost point and one of few that it is an artificial section of land, others in Cape Verde are Ponta do Sol on Santo Antão. In spite of the harbour, the water is cleaner and the sea is not so  rough. The most popular beach of the island is "Ponta da Sallina" in São Jorge. Climate. São Filipe has a hot desert climate (Köppen "BWh"). The average temperature is . Average annual rainfall is . Sports. The city has its stadiums – the Estadio 5 de Julho which is used for football (soccer) and a multisport complex named Simão Mendes used for basketball and volleyball games. Académica do Fogo, Botafogo and Vulcânicos are the town's football clubs, they are also the island's most popular.