University of the Azores

It was founded in 1976, first as an Institute and renamed in 1980 as the University of the Azores. It is divided into three campuses in the cities of Ponta Delgada, Angra do Heroísmo and Horta, which has consolidated inter-island ties.

The seat of the university is at the parish of São Pedro, close to the hill of Mãe de Deus, in a small 19th-century palace built by the Viscount of Porto Formoso, Jacinto Fernandes Gil. In the 1960s this palace was acquired by the General Board of the District and housed a primary school until 1976. It also comprises a botanical garden with flora from diverse parts of the world.