Lonely Planet has published a pocket guide dedicated exclusively to the Azores archipelago. The guide is available in bookstores and online through the “world’s most visited travel website.”

Lonely Planet is a travel guide publisher founded in Australia in 1973 and has published over 150 million books. Now it’s the turn of the Azorean islands to have their own guide, with a cover dedicated to the islet of Vila Franca do Campo in São Miguel but packed with tips for all the islands.

In the best art experiences section, of the six highlighted by writer Sandra Henriques, two are led by MiratecArts: the headquarters property, Galeria Costa, and Helena Amaral’s Sorrisos de Pedra itinerary. The guide challenges visitors to find “the enigmatic volcanic rock sculptures scattered around the island of Pico.” As for the festivals produced by MiratecArts, the highlight was the Azores Fringe Festival.

In 2017, the world’s largest travel publisher highlighted MiratecArts’ headquarters property in an online article, quoting: “An open-air gallery, open 24 hours a day, in the middle of a vineyard on the island of Pico in the Azores, has become an unlikely tourist attraction.”

A kilometer of art between the landscape of the vineyard culture, bushes, and forest give shape to MiratecArts Galeria Costa: installations, paintings, sculptures, and places of interest to develop art in nature can be visited by the public at any time because the gallery is literally outdoors. The first installation was put up in 2013. Many ephemeral works have their days numbered, but you’ll find around 50 pieces of art, as well as some points of interest with nature itself creating art. “Art in nature and nature as art,” says Terry Costa, founder and artistic director of MiratecArts.

MiratecArts Galeria Costa is located in the parish of Candelária, in the municipality of Madalena, on the island of Pico. Helena Amaral’s Sorrisos de Pedra itinerary features more than 200 sculptures going around the mountainous island, from the center of Madalena to the municipalities of Lajes do Pico and São Roque do Pico.

From Press Release

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks the Luso-American Education Foundation for their support.