Terceira Island

Terceira Island is a Portuguese island in the Azores Archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. Angra do Heroísmo, the historical capital of the Azores, is located in Terceira, and its historical centre is classified in UNESCO's International Heritage list.

Mythical Island

Terceira Island has been identified with the phantom island of Brazil. However, its Mediaeval name Brasil arises from a different origin: from red dye-woods, possibly also applied to other vegetable dyes, and so descending from the Insulae Purpurariae of Pliny. It first appears as the "I. de Brazi" in the Venetian map of Andrea Bianco (1436), where it is found attached to one of the larger islands of the Azores. When this group became better known and was colonized, the island in question was renamed Terceira.

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